r- 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


AND 


REMINISCENCES 


OF 


JOHN    W.    CARROLL 


HENDERSON,  TENN. 


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DATE 
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DATE 
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AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


AND 


Kb 
REMINISCENCES 


OP 


JOHN  W.  CARROLL 


HENDERSON,  TENN. 


A 


~z. 


DEDICATORY. 

My  only  apology  for  writing  whatever  may  appear  on  the 
following  pages  is  that  I  may  leave  on  record  a  brief  synopsis 
of  my  very  tame  and  uneventful  life ;  that  my  four  little  grand- 
sons of  whom  I  am  very  proud,  may  have  an  opportunity  in 
after  life  to  take  a  slight  glance  at  some  of  the  events  transpir- 
ing in  the  short  life  of  their  paternal  grandfather,  in  the  hope 
that  they  may  improve  on  my  successes  (if  it  can  be  said  that  I 
have  had  such)  and  profit  by  my  mistakes  which  have  been 
many.  To  them — Raymond  Trice  Carroll,  John  Murehison  Car- 
roll, Thomas  Burns  Carroll,  and  Kirk  McKenzie  Carroll — the 
following  lines  are  affectionately  dedicated  by  their  grand- 
father, 

JOHN  WILLIAM  CARROLL. 

Henderson.  Tenn. 
August.  1898. 


JOHN  W.  CARROLL. 


763119 


3 

: 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://archive.org/details/autobiographyremOOcarr 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE. 
CHAPTER  I. 

My  Ancestors. 

My  great  grandfather  Carroll  immigrated  to  this  country 
from  Ireland  many  years  before  the  Revolutionary  War.  Land- 
ing in  Maryland,  the  family  drifted  into  North  and  South 
Carolina  and  finally  some  of  them  to  Tennessee.  He  and  sev- 
eral brothers  were  in  the  American  army  during  the  entire  war, 
as  were  also  some  of  his  oldest  sons.  Grandfather  Joseph  Car- 
roll was  about  eight  years  of  age  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution- 
ary AVar,  as  he  has  related  to  me  many  times  by  way  of  enter- 
tainment with  many  other  stirring  scenes  calculated  to  live 
in  the  tablets  of  the  mind  of  a  small  but  intensely  interested 
boy.  He  emigrated  to  Middle  Tennessee  in  his  young  man- 
hood, bringing  with  him  five  thousand  dollars,  quite  a  little 
fortune  for  that  day  and  time,  where  he  engaged  in  farming. 
Let  me  say  in  regard  to  his  character  that  he  was  one  of  those 
big-hearted,  open-handed  Irishmen,  who  loved  a  dram  and  oc- 
casionally took  too  much,  and  when  in  those  happy  moods  be- 
came endorser  for  other  men,  which  finally  nearly  exhausted 
all  his  means,  leaving  himself  and  family  in  straitened  cir- 
cumstances.     (Boys,  become  surety  for  no  man.) 

He  soon  after  emigrated  to  AYest  Tennessee,  settling  in  Hen- 
derson County,  then  sparsely  settled.  Here  he  recuperated 
somewhat,  his  lost  fortune,  but  never  fully.  About  this  time 
war  was  declared  by  the  United  States  against  Great  Britain. 
He  immediately  volunteered  and  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans,  Jan.  8th,  1815.  It  was  of  great  interest  to  me 
when  a  lad  to  have  him  relate  to  me  some  of  the  many  incidents 
of  camp  life  and  of  how  he  and  some  comrades  on  the  evening 
before  the  battle  walked  down  the  line  of  battle  and  found  one 


4  RECOLLECTIONS  OP  AX   UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

poor  fellow  down  praying  and  crying,  scared  almost  to  death, 
before  there  had  been  a  shot  fired,  and  of  how  they  upbraided 
him  for  his  cowardice;  aboul  the  death  of  Gen.  Pakenham,  the 
British  general,  etc.  These  recitals  tired  my  youthful  heart 
with  a  burning  patriotism  and  how  1  wished  to  wear  a  uniform; 
to  hear  strains  of  martial  music  and  the  roar  of  cannon;  and 
see  glorious  war.  I  thought  such  things  would  never  come  in 
my  day,  but  alas!  they  did.    Let  the  sequel  tell. 

Of  my  mother's  people  I  knew  but  little,  save  that  they  im- 
migrated to  this  country  shortly  after  the  Revolutionary  War 
from  Scotland.  My  mother's  maiden  name  was  Susan  Ann 
Burns;  a  Christian  woman  in  deed  and  in  truth;  small  in  statue 
never  weighing  as  much  as  one  hundred  pounds  in  her  life; 
afflicted  always  after  I  knew  her,  but  ever  cheerful,  always 
looking  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household.  She  ate  not  the 
bread  of  idleness. 

My  mother's  eldest  brother,  Samuel  Burns,  was  elected 
Major  of  a  volunteer  batallion  to  go  to  New  Orleans  with  Gen. 
Jackson,  but,  arriving  at  the  place  of  rendezvous  too  late,  he 
with  his  command,  was  among  the  number  that  were  refused, 
owing  to  the  great  number  of  men  offering  their  service.  Mam- 
were  turned  away  sadly  disappointed. 

My  father,  AVilliam  Carroll,  was  born  in  Lincoln  county,  Ten- 
nessee, and  came  to  Henderson  County,  Tennessee,  where  he 
lived  and  died.  He  was  a  farmer  all  his  life,  never  held  an 
office  but  twice,  once  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  for  two  years 
Tax  Collector  of  his  county,  being  elected  to  these  positions  by 
votes  of  his  fellow  citizens.  In  politics,  always  a  Democrat. 
What  might  be  called  a  rugged  man.  to  principle  he  adhered 
with  all  the  tenacity  of  his  nature.  Of  a  mean,  low  trick  he 
was  never  guilty;  principle  was  all  with  him.  To  the  appeals 
for  help  from  the  widow  and  orphan,  his  hand  was  ever  open; 
of  his  small  means  he  contributed  freely  to  those  in  distress. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 


CHAPTER  II. 

My  Immediate  Family. 

The  writer  of  these  pages  was  born  in  Henderson  County, 
Tennessee,  Nov.  28th,  1841,  near  57  years  ago.  My  earliest 
recollections  of  life  are  those  of  absolute  pleasure,  associated 
as  they  are  with  the  remembrance  of  one  of  the  kindest  of 
mothers,  a  father  who  looked  after  my  interest,  a  doting  grand- 
father, who  lived  just  across  the  farm  half  a  mile  from  our 
house,  who  had  me  believe  I  was  one  of  the  grandest  of  boys, 
two  grandmothers  who  thought  I  was  quite  a  hero  generally, 
one  of  whom.  Grandmother  Burns,  made  her  home  part  of  the 
time  at  my  father's  house.  Here  I  was  not  scolded  or  petted 
but  dealt  with  as  though  I  were  a  real  gentleman,  which  I 
appreciated  very  much.  When  I  did  wrong,  which  I  frequent- 
ly did,  the  matter  was  discussed  with  me  as  one  of  the  auditors 
and  frequently  I  thought  before  the  conversation  ended  that, 
should  I  be  naughty  again,  grandpapa,  whom  I  dearly  loved, 
would  hardly  ever  speak  to  me  again.  Thus  I  was  deterred 
from  a  repetition,  but  perhaps  did  other  mischief  equally 
wrong. 

Of  our  immediate  family  there  were  seven  children — three 
boys  and  four  girls — I,  being  the  eldest;  J.  C.  Carroll  of  this 
county,  next ;  Dr.  J.  R.  Carroll,  now  of  this  town,  youngest.  Of 
my  sisters,  Martha,  the  eldest,  many  years  since  dead;  Emily 
next,  now  living;  Cynthia  Ann  died  five  years  ago;  Virginia, 
the  youngest,  died  in  infancy. 

My  earliest  friendship,  outside  of  our  own  little  family,  was 
for  a  little  black-haired,  black-eyed  girl  of  about  my  age — five 
summers.  She  came  with  her  mother  frequently  to  visit  at 
my  father  \s  house ;  welcome  guests  indeed  were  they,  especially 
to  me.     Puss  Grissom  was  her  name  and  a  dear  little  child  of 


6         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE. 

sweet  disposition  and  gentle  manners.  Such  delightful  romps 
and  such  happy  hours  I  have  seldom,  if  ever,  experienced  since. 
My  mind  runs  back  to  those  happy  hours  when  the  watchful 
care  of  our  mothers  was  upon  us,  when  the  sins  and  sophistries 
of  the  world  were  unknown  to  us.  And  to  them  I  hope  troubles 
are  still  unknown.  When  I  think  of  these  things,  I  am  reminded 
of  a  saying  of  the  Master:  "Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto 
me,  and  forbid  them  not :  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven." 
Well  do  I  remember  on  one  occasion  that  this  friend  and  I 
wandered  along  down  the  spring  branch  that  ran  from  my 
grandfather's  spring,  gathering  wild  flowers  as  we  went,  which 
grew  luxuriantly  and  of  rare  fragrance  all  along  the  banks  of 
the  tiny  rill.  We  traveled  on  gathering  flowers  until  we  were 
lost,  but  fortunately  for  us  we  did  not  know  it ;  for  we  did 
not  remember  how  we  had  come.  Our  barefooted  tracks  in 
the  sand  told  of  our  ramble  and  led  to  our  safe  return.  Soon 
after  this  her  father  moved  away  to  some  other  country,  which 
gave  us  sadness,  but  happily  for  us  only  such  as  passed  quickly 
away.  We  have  never  met  since,  probably  never  will,  but, 
wherever  she  is,  in  whatsoever  clime,  I  hope  she  is  happy.  I 
remember  vividly  her  merry  laughter,  her  gentle  voice,  yet, 
it  has  been  more  than  fifty  years  since  we  parted. 

My  next  very  dear  friendship  was  formed  in  this  Avay:  A 
little  boy,  a  little  older  than  I,  visiting  my  father's  house  one 
day,  brought  with  him  as  a  present  for  me  a  scpiare-plait  whip 
— the  first  thing  of  the  sort  I  had  ever  seen  and  of  which  I 
was  very  proud.  Such  a  present  and  such  a  friend !  He  was  a 
noble,  brave,  generous,  manly  boy  and  thank  God  he  is  living 
today — August,  1898.  Having  known  him  all  these  years.  I 
can  truthfully  testify  that  he  has  borne  out  in  manhood  those 
noble  traits  of  character  exhibited  in  his  youth  and  occupies 
now,  as  then,  a  place  second  to  no  one  in  my  esteem.  On  my 
first  visit  to  his  home  he  treated  me  most  royally;  he  led  me 
into  the  mysteries  of  crawling  through  the  fence  cracks  and 
how  to  turn  my  head  to  one  side  so  as  not  to  hurt  my  nose  and 
how  to  catch  and  ride  wild  cattle — that  is — as  far  as  we  were 
able  to  sit  on  them,  which  was  but  a  short  distance  at  a  time. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  ON  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         7 

being1  thrown  almost  as  often  as  we  mounted.  As  we  grew  up, 
our  friendship  was  never  cooled,  but  rather  intensified — my 
father  having  moved  nearer  to  where  his  father  lived.  We 
were  ever  afterwards  friends.  We  helped  roll  logs  together, 
husk  the  corn,  etc.  We  both  entered  the  Confederate  army  in 
1861 — he,  in  one  regiment  and  I,  in  another.  After  the  war  we 
played  on  the  violin  together,  worked  in  the  fields  during 
the  days  we  could,  lay  in  the  woods  and  guarded  our  horses 
at  night  to  protect  them  from  the  tories  who  nightly  prowled 
around  the  premises  of  Southern  men  to  see  if  there  was  any 
chance  to  steal.  Later  we  were  partners  in  business;  always 
Democrats;  always  friends.  Such  friendships  as  these,  being 
mutual,  are  beneficial  and  always  worth  cultivation.  Never  to 
betray  a  trust  reposed  in  either  nor  to  go  back  on  a  friend  has 
been  a  part  of  our  motto,  and  has  been  religiously  and  sacredly 
lived  up  to  by  both  of  us.  This  good  friend  was  J.  N.  Gal- 
braith  now  of  Center  Point,  Tennessee. 


CHAPTER  III. 

My  First  Home. 

During  the  sixth  year  of  my  age  my  father,  owning  no  land 
where  he  lived,  purchased  a  small  tract  about  four  miles  away, 
which  was  a  primeval  forest,  near  which  place  lived  Esq.  Jno. 
H.  Galbraith.  Preparations  for  a  move  began  right  away  and 
consisted  in  my  father  going  on  the  place,  axe  in  hand,  cutting 
away  the  timber  and  making  sufficient  opening  to  set  a  house. 
This  done,  he  began  felling  small  trees,  eight  to  ten  inches  in 
diameter,  cutting  them  off  at  required  length,  hauling  them 
to  the  selected  spot,  inviting  the  neighboring  citizens  to  help 
to  raise  the  house ;  a  dinner  was  prepared  and  sent  to  the 
place,  and  a  gallon  of  whiskey  completed  the  arrangements. 
On  each  of  the  four  corners  of  the  house  was  a  man  whose  duty 
it  was  to  notch  the  logs  down,  one  upon  another,  being  handed 
to  them  by  other  men  who  were  on  the  ground;  thus  the  work 


8  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

proceeded,  interspersed  with  much  good  feeling  and  friendly 

jests  until  the  Last  log  was  put  up.  Then  one  piece  was  put 
upon  either  end  of  the  house  extending  about  24  inches  out 
from  cither  side;  on  the  outer  end  of  this,  on  either  side,  was 
placed  a  long  pole  called  an  abutment,  against  which  the  ends 
of  the  hoards  were  to  rest.  Then  the  pieces  on  the  ends  were 
shorter  and  shorter  to  the  top.  Now  we  were  ready  for  the 
boards  which  were  laid  on,  and  a  pole  of  sufficient  weight  put 
on  them  to  hold  them  down  and  so  on  to  the  top;  then  we 
began  and  chopped  into  the  logs  of  the  house  on  each  side  and 
hewed  them  down  thus  taking  off  the  rough  bark:  this  done. 
we  proceeded  to  nail  boards  on  the  inside  of  the  cracks  be- 
tween the  logs  and  to  fill  up  the  outside  of  the  openings  with 
mud;  this  done,  we  had  a  warm  cabin;  we  then  began  laying 
the  floor  which  was  made  usually  of  puncheons  hewn  out  and 
put  down  as  closely  as  could  be  done  with  a  hand  axe  ;  next,  long- 
riven  boards  were  gotten  out  and  shaved  as  smoothly  as  pos- 
sible and  a  door  shutter  made  of  them  hung  on  wooden  hinges, 
which  usually  made  a  loud  creaking  noise  on  being  opened  or 
closed.  The  place  for  a  fire  was  usually  four  to  six  feet  wide, 
built  upon  the  outside  with  logs  and  laid  on  the  inside  with 
mortar  and  rocks,  the  hearth  back  and  all  up  to  where  the 
chimney  proper  started,  which  was  built  of  sticks  and  mud. 
This  completed,  our  humble  mansion  was  ready  for  occupancy. 
We  had  no  saw  mills  then  as  now,  driven  by  steam,  nor  nails 
with  which  to  fasten  down  boards  or  plank.  Such  things  of 
course  were  in  use,  I  suppose,  in  some  places,  but  for  lack  of 
money  on  our  part  did  not  extend  to  us.  We  moved  in  and  be- 
gan making  rails  and  building  a  rail  fence  around  the  house. 
We  built  a  log  stable  for  a  horse,  a  smoke-house  for  our  meat 
and  a  log  house  for  a  corn  crib,  and  dug  a  well.  By  the  time 
this  was  all  done,  it  was  springtime — March.  Father  went  to 
clearing  a  piece  of  land  and  I,  to  piling  brush,  being  the  eldest 
and  only  help  at  this  time.  Late  in  the  season  we  succeeded  in 
getting  six  acres  of  land  cleared  and  planted  in  corn  which 
of  course  made  only  a  poor  crop  on  account  of  the  shade  being 
too  dense  to   admit  the   growth   of  corn  hence  the  yield  was 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AX  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  9 

small.  However  we  continued  to  clear  land  and  build  till 
father  had  a  good  small  farm  of  rich  land  for  that  section. 
Thus  in  course  of  time  better  buildings  took  the  place  of  our 
primitive  log  cabin.  We  were  possibly  as  happy  as  if  our  sur- 
roundings had  been  better,  that  is,  we  children:  for  this  was 
all  we  knew.  The  labor  which  we  did.  though  hard,  was  no 
particular  hardship  to  us,  as  we  knew  nor  thought  of  anything 
else. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

My  First  School. 

About  my  eighth  year  I  started  for  school,  father  leading 
the  way,  axe  in  hand,  cutting  off  a  limb  here  and  a  brush 
there.  I  blazed  a  tree  first  one  one  side  and  then  on  the  other, 
of  the  newly  made  path,  that  brother  and  I  might  have  a  guide 
to  and  from  the  school.  (This  school  generally  lasted  from 
ten  to  twelve  weeks.  At  least  from  the  time  Ave  got  through 
our  crops  until  time  to  take  the  fodder,  we  were  continu- 
ously in  school.)  On  arriving  at  the  Seminary  we  found  quite 
a  pleasant-looking  gentleman  in  charge — Mr.  R.  G.  Hughes,  who 
proved  to  be  what  his  appearance  indicated,  a  real  good  fel- 
low. Those  who  wished  to,  studied;  those  who  did  not  relish 
studying,  were  not  compelled. 

Our  school  building  was  as  primitive  as  our  residence. 
Round  logs  composed  the  body  of  the  house ;  it  had  a  dirt  floor 
or  rather  no  floor  at  all ;  a  large  fire-place  occupied  almost  one 
entire  end  of  the  building.  Round  logs  had  been  split  open  in 
the  middle,  the  splinters  hewn  off  on  the  split  side,  holes  bored 
in  from  the  bark  side,  and  long  pins,  put  in  them  from  that 
side  as  supports,  furnished  the  seats  for  the  pupils.  These 
seats  were  from  some  cause  always  made  high  so  that  many 
of  the  small  children's  feet  reached  no  nearer  the  floor,  than 
from  six  to  eighteen  inches.  There  Ave  sat  and  swung  our  feet 
from  morning  until  noon  and  from  noon  until  dismissal.     Our 


10        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

writing  desk  consisted  of  one  long  plank'  put  up  on  pins  along 
one  side  of  the  house;  one  of  the  long  benches  being  used  for 
a  seat,  and  of  extra  height ;  a  log  was  cut  out  of  the  house 
just  over  the  writing  bench  to  admit  the  light.  Many  were  the 
little  notes  we  passed  and  slipped  into  each  other's  copy  books 
while  learning  to  write.  At  school,  we  all  spelt  aloud  and  read 
aloud ;  sometimes  we  could  have  been  heard  two  hundred  yards 
away,  especially  on  Friday  evenings  when  we  had  a  spelling 
match,  which  was  an  evening  of  great  excitement  and  looked 
to  with  much  interest.  Not  much  school,  you  think,  which  is 
true,  as  compared  with  the  older  communities,  or  with  our 
modern  colleges,  built  of  brick,  warmed  by  hot  air  and  lighted 
by  electricity,  but  then  it  was  a  school,  the  best  we  had,  and  did 
much  good.  I  attended  this  school  three  sessions  from  eight 
to  twelve  weeks  at  a  time  in  so  many  years.  During  this  time 
I  learned  to  spell  and  read  fairly  well  and  to  write  a  fairly 
legible  hand.  I  also  learned  the  multiplication  table,  possibly 
to  add  simple  numbers,  but  there  was  no  such  thing  iu  our 
school  as  a  history,  geography  or  English  grammar,  in  fact  I 
never  saw  an  English  grammar  until  I  was  almost  grown,  hence 
pass  over  grammatical  mistakes  as  lightly  as  possible. 

It  was  the  custom  of  our  professor  to  allow  the  first  who  ar- 
rived in  the  morning  to  recite  first  that  day  and  many  were  the 
mornings  that  we  almost  flew  in  our  efforts  to  be  first.  Of  the 
girls  and  bo}^s  who  attended  this  school  many  remained  in  the 
country  and  grew  to  be  stalwart  men  and  women  and  helped 
to  make  the  country  what  it  now  is. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE.         11 


CHAPTER  V. 

My  First  Visit  to  a  Store. 

Grandfather  came  by  our  house  on  his  way  to  the  store,  rid- 
ing horseback.  I  mounted  on  the  same  horse  behind  him.  On 
our  arrival  at  the  store,  I  thought  I  had  almost  entered  a  new 
world  and  to  me  it  was :  such  fancy  goods,  such  nice  pictures, 
such  nice  glassware,  etc.,  and  above  all  such  shining  tinware. 
I  had  never  dreamed  of  such  a  beautiful  place  as  this  being 
on  earth.  I  feasted  my  eyes  on  the  new  things  while  grand- 
father chatted  away  with  the  storekeeper.  When  ready  to 
leave  for  home  he  asked  me  what  I  wanted  and  gave  me  what 
I  called  for — a  new  tin  bucket  of  which  I  was  very  proud  and 
thankful.  Encouraged  by  this  adventure,  I  some  time  later 
made  another  trip  to  another  store  with  some  company  and 
some  mode  of  transportation;  this  time  there  was  a  gentleman 
playing  on  a  violin,  the  sound  of  which  was  extremely  pleasing 
to  me  and  it  looked  so  easy  for  the  man  to  play ;  it  just  seemed 
that  anyone  could  do  that;  so  grandfather  when  he  was  ready 
to  leave  for  home  asked  me  in  his  good-natured  broad  Irish 
accent:  "Me  lad,  what  do  ye  want?"  I  said:  "That  fiddle, 
Grandpa."  He  told  the  gentleman  to  hand  it  to  me  which  he 
did.  Of  course  I  felt  supremely  happy,  but  found  it  would 
not  play  for  me  as  it  would  for  the  owner ;  so  I  did  not  succeed 
in  making  a  musician,  for  which  I  have  no  special  regrets. 


12         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AX   FXFYFXTFFF  FIFF 


CHAPTER  VI. 

My  School  Days,  Etc. 

During  these  years  of  attending  Hughes  academy,  clearing 
and  fencing  land,  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  take  part  in  all 
the  duties  of  the  household,  my  mother  being  always  a  deli- 
cate woman  in  feeble  health,  a  great  part  of  the  time  con- 
fined to  the  bed,  unable  to  do  her  work,  and  father  too  poor 
to  hire  it  done.  The  younger  children  and  I  learned  early  to 
do  all  kinds  of  work — milk  the  cows,  churn  the  milk,  cook  a 
meal  of  victuals,  etc.  It  was  sometimes  the  case  that  brother 
and  I  would  take  the  clothing  of  the  family  to  the  well  and 
wash  them,  which  we  cheerfully  did.  We  sometimes  felt  a  lit- 
tle mortified  at  seeing  other  young  people  of  our  age  pass  by 
lin  good  clothes  and  happy,  while  we  were  bent  over  the  wash- 
tub.  All  this  feeling  was  wrong  in  us;  all  labor  is  honorable, 
it  matters  not  what  it  is,  and  washing  being  hard  work  I  think 
boys  should  assist  in  doing  the  work  where  the  family  has  it 
to  do.  Boys  are  much  stronger  than  girls,  as  a  rule,  and  should 
always  assist  their  mother  and  sisters  in  doing  the  hard  work 
about   the   place. 

During  these  years  Ave  had  another  professor  at  the  Hughes 
academy,  Mr.  Smith,  a  good  man ;  and  one  other.  Mr.  T.  J. 
Bailey,  also  a  fine  man  and  Avho  prided  himself  very  much 
upon  the  correct  understanding  of  Webster's  Blue  Back  Spell- 
ing Book.  So  we  were  put  through  again  and  again  and  in- 
accuracies of  other  teachers  printed  out.  We  now  entered  upon 
the  study  of  arithmetic,  Pike's  old  work  being  the  standard  at 
that  time:  it  treated  mostly  of  shillings  and  pence — old  English 
money — a  thing  obsolete  as  far  as  our  currency  is  concerned. 
So  under  this  professor,  studying  eight  weeks  in  a  year  during 
the  summer  solstice,  in  two  rears  I  actuallv  o-<->t  as  far  as  the 


KECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         13 

rule  of  three,  as  well  as  I  remember,  about  the  thirtieth  page 
of  the  book;  and  here  my  educational  labors  ceased.  I  am 
just  a  little  sorry  that  I  can  not  have  a  photo  of  this  professor. 
Unfortunately  he  was  very  lame,  one  leg  being  much  shorter 
than  the  other;  and  one  eye  seemed  smaller  than  the  other. 
Seated  upon  a  high  chair,  a  long  black  hickory  being  con- 
veniently near,  woe  to  the  child  whom  the  professor  caught 
not  spelling  or  reading  aloud,  or  smiling  at  the  rosy-cheeked 
girls,  or  fixing  a  pin  in  the  seat  so  that  the  next  boy  might 
sit  upon  it.  Engaging  in  any  of  these  to  us  seemed  little  harm- 
less pastimes.  On  such  occasions  the  professor  would  rise  in 
his  chair  and  pitch  that  long  black  hickory  at  the  violater  who 
must  pick  it  up  and  carry  it  to  the  professor  and  after  a  few 
preliminaries  square  himself  and  take  a  whipping,  very  much 
to  the  edification  of  the  school  and  to  the  advancement  of  edu- 
cation in  those  parts. 

Sometime  during  these  years  I  saw  my  first  book-agent  who 
called  at  my  father's  house  to  spend  the  night.  After  supper 
he  exhibited  his  books.  Among  the  number  was  Bunyan's  Pil- 
grim's Progress;  after  looking  through  it.  I  was  very  anxious 
to  own  it :  but  in  this  case,  as  in  many  others,  I  did  not  have 
the  money  and  father  never  thought  it  right  to  charge  a  man 
for  lodging  and  horse  feed.  So  after  breakfast  next  morning 
the  agent  left  and  with  him  my  hopes  of  obtaining  a  new  book. 
Though  after  the  lapse  of  several  months  I  found  the  much 
coveted  volume  in  the  library  of  a  Baptist  minister  who  kindly 
loaned  it  to  me.  I  sped  home  light  of  heart  and  footstep  too,  and 
gathered  in  1113'  brush  for  a  light  that  night ;  for  remember  this 
Avas  before  the  time  of  Lucifer  matches,  sperm  candles,  or  coal 
oil,  at  least  in  our  part  of  the  country.  For  light  we  made  tal- 
low candles,  when  we  had  the  beef  tallow,  which  we  could  af- 
ford to  use  only  on  special  occasions.  For  all  ordinary  occas- 
ions we  used  a  lamp  made  in  the  potter's  shop,  having  a  bowl 
that  held  about  a  pint  into  which  we  put  hog's  lard  or  any 
kind  of  grease.  Into  this  we  put  a  strip  of  cotton  cloth  called 
a  wick  and  lighted  this  wick  at  one  end ;  thus  we  had  a  dim 
light,  but  this  we  could  not  alwavs  afford  as  was  the  case  in 


14        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

this  instance;  hence  the  gathering  of  the  sticks  and  limbs.  And 
now  for  the  reading  of  the  much  prized  book  which  began  im- 
mediately, and  let  me  say,  right  here  and  now,  that  never  before 
nor  since,  neither  do  I  ever  expect  to  read  anything  with  half 
the  interest  as  Idid  this  one  volume;  it  held  me  spellbound  until 
late  hours  at  night.  Its  stirring  scenes  passed  through  my 
dreams;  it  riveted  my  susceptible  mind  to  its  passing  scenes  as 
with  rivets  of  steel  from  which  I  could  not  and  did  not  want  to 
free  my  mind,  until  I  had  read  the  last  word.  Someone  who 
may  read  this  scrawl,  will  want  to  know  why  of  snch  deep 
interest  in  snch  a  work.  Reader,  let  me  tell  you — I  had  never 
been  fifteen  miles  from  home  in  my  life ;  I  had  never  read  fic- 
tion ;  I  had  never  seen  a  geography;  I  knew  nothing  of  fiction 
and  every  word  my  father  and  mother  said  to  me  I  believed 
with  all  my  heart;  they  never  deceived  me  about  anything, 
hence  I  accepted  as  a  literal  fact  everything  heard  or  read;  I 
verily  believed  that  there  were  somewhere  in  the  world  just 
snch  roads,  such  country,  as  therein  described,  just  such  per- 
sonages as  Christian,  Patience,  Charity  and  others;  such  moun- 
tains wTith  great  gulches  through  which  they  had  to  pass ;  great 
lions  lying  beside  the  wayside  looking  for  prey;  and  lo,  when 
they  approached  nearer  they  found  them  with  chains  around 
their  mouths.  Of  course  I  learned  later  the  true  intent  of  the 
story,  but  the  reader  can  see  the  cause  of  my  intense  interest 
in  the  book. 

Along  about  this  time  some  parties  put  up  a  store  about  three 
miles  from  our  home  and  advertised  that  they  would  exchange 
goods  for  "sang, "  a  medicinal  herb  that  grew  spontaneously  in 
our  neighborhood.  I  concluded  at  odd  times  to  dig  some  of  the 
roots,  this  being  the  part  of  the  plant  used.  So  in  a  little  while 
I  had  quite  a  little  sack  full  of  it.  In  a  few  days  opportunity 
offered  and  I  took  my  "sang"  to  market  and  very  readily 
made  a  sale.  My  chief  desire  was  for  store  goods  enough  to 
make  me  a  pair  of  pants  and  this  being  the  second  store  I  had 
ever  been  in,  everything  looked  pretty  to  me.  and  noticing  a 
piece  of  striped  goods  I  concluded  it  was  the  thing  I  wanted, 
so  I  took  the  worth  of  my  produce  in  the  same  striped  goods, 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         15 

which  I  learned  later  was  a  very  good  article — ticking.  I 
hurried  home,  elated  over  my  purchase,  and  the  prospect  of  a 
pair  of  new  pants.  Mother,  God  bless  her  memory,  would  not 
mortify  my  feelings  by  saying  it  was  not  desirable  goods  for 
the  purpose  for  which  I  wanted  it,  but  cut  out  the  pants  and 
made  them  for  me.  So  on  Sunday  following  I  donned  my  new 
pants  and  a  new  white  shirt,  every  thread  of  which,  both  warp 
and  woof,  mother  had  made  with  her  own  hands,  even  to  the 
buttons  which  were  made  of  thread  alone  by  mother's  own 
hands.  Thus  attired  I  went  to  church.  Although  my  feet  were 
not  incased  in  patent  leather,  or  leather  of  any  kind  for  that 
matter,  I  felt  no  embarrassment,  not  knowing  at  that  period  of 
my  life,  as  I  learned  later,  that  the  harness  made  the  horse  de- 
sirable. Any  way  those  were  happy  days;  whether  modern 
ways  will  give  to  the  world  a  better  citizenship  remains  to  be 
seen. 

A  few  more  years  of  clearing  land,  rolling  logs,  etc.,  brought 
me  to  the  year  1856.  Mother's  health,  which  was  always  poor, 
had  gone  almost  completely  away;  she  became  almost  bedfast 
for  the  remainder  of  her  life  and  to  add  to  our  troubles,  father, 
while  assisting  a  neighbor  to  raise  a  house,  had  the  misfortune 
to  have  his  leg  broken  below  the  knee.  We  made  a  litter  and 
neighbors  brought  him  home,  one  man  at  each  of  the  four 
corners.  To  further  add  to  our  troubles,  as  though  we  did  not 
yet  have  enough,  brother,  next  younger  than  I  and  the  two 
oldest  sisters  were  taken  sick  of  typhoid  fever.  I,  being  the 
only  one  of  the  family  old  enough  and  well  enough  to  do  any- 
thing, all  this  was  more  than  I  could  do,  but  we  secured  the  aid 
of  a  good  lady  and  by  the  assistance  of  kind  neighbors,  which 
we  always  had,  we  did  pretty  well.  Father  recovered  after  a 
long  time  as  did  also  brother  and  sisters,  but  our  poor  mother 
gradually  sank.  Physicians  administered  to  her  the  best  they 
could,  but  she  gradually  wasted  away  from  the  ravages  of  that 
awful  disease  known  as  consumption  of  the  bowels.  She  spent 
her  life  for  the  good,  upbuilding,  consolation,  support,  and  en- 
couragement of  her  husband  and  children ;  many  were  the  times 
that  I  heard  her  encouraging  words  to  my  father  in  the  days 


16        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

of  our  family  afflictions,  telling  him  to  fear  not;  the  Lord 
would  provide;  counseling  as  children  as  how  we  should  live 
and  act.  She,  feeling'  and  knowing  that  the  end  was  near,  gave 
to  her  expressions  a  deep,  fervid,  intense  interest  that  they 
would  not  otherwise  have  had. 

She  had  always  managed,  some  way,  to  clothe,  mostly  with  the 
work  of  her  own  hands,  her  family,  especially  the  children  ; 
cotton  goods  for  the  summer  and  woolen  linseys  and  jeans  for 
the  winter,  dying  the  woolen  goods  with  the  bark  of  the  walnut 
tree  which  gave  a  beautiful  dark  brown  color  and  made  it  very 
pretty.  The  buttons  for  these  goods  she  made  by  covering  a 
piece  of  leather  or  gourd  with  some  dark  material.  She  lived 
as  the  Scriptures  describes,  a  good  mother.  She  looked  well  to 
the  ways  of  her  husband.  I  gave  to  her  in  her  sickness  my  best 
attention,  while  she  was  sick,  and  as  the  other  members  of  the 
family  who  were  sick  grew  better  I  came  more  and  more  to  the 
assistance  of  my  mother,  but  alas!  the  end  came  on  the  evening 
of  March  27th.  1857.  She  called  me  to  the  bedside  and  told  me 
she  was  dying;  the  three  next  children  being  unable  to  go  to 
her.  father  with  difficulty  being  at  the  bedside.  She  uttered 
a  short  prayer,  pressed  us  to  her  dying  breast  and  said  to  me 
"John,  yon  have  been  a  dutiful  son.  Meet  me  in  heaven." 
Then  a  few  feeble  words  to  father  and  me  to  care  for  her  chil- 
dren, and  all  was  over.  We  carried  her  remains  to  the  family 
cemetery  where  they  were  decently  interred :  I.  being  the  only 
member  of  the  family  who  was  able  to  go  to  the  grave.  Re- 
turning home,  everything  was  sad  and  lonely  ;  mother  gone,  the 
family  sick,  but  after  all  our  log  cabin  was  our  home.  To  care 
for  the  sick'  was  my  duty  which  I  did  as  faithfully  as  I  could. 
The  deep  interest  I  felt  in  them  and  my  knowledge  of  their 
gradual  and  permanent  improvement  caused  a  more  hopeful 
spirit  to  come  over  me  by  soon  seeing  them  all  able  to  be  stir- 
ring a  little  in  the  house.  Spring  being  now  well  advanced, 
1  went  about  making  a  small  corn  crop.  So  after  a  few  weeks 
I  had  it  planted;  later  along  father  and  brother  got  able  to 
help  me  some  and  after  all  we  made  a  fair  crop,  a  sustenance. 
Boys,  let  me  say  right  here,  be  good  to  mother:  she  it  is  who 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         IT 

will  go  down  to  the  very  death  for  you ;  she  it  is  who  will  never 
forsake  you ;  father,  brothers,  sisters,  aye,  even  your  wife,  but 
mother  never:  though  a  felon's  chains  might  bind  your  hands 
(which  God  forbid),  the  world  pass  by  and  scoff,  but  mother 
will  be  there  to  plead,  to  comfort,  to  counsel  and  to  console. 
Boys,  stand  by  mother,  she  may  become  old  and  fretful  and 
possibly  hard  to  please,  but  hold  up  her  hands  and  steady  her 
trembling,  tottering  steps. 

Boys,  the  prettiest  sight  that  was  ever  witnessed  in  the  town 
of  Henderson,  Tennessee,  was  that  of  a  young  Mr.  Savage  of 
that  place  whose  mother  was  old  and  tottery ;  but  in  that  manly 
son  who  was  then  about  twenty-two  years  of  age.  she  had  a 
treasure,  a  son  of  whom  any  mother  would  be  proud.  Each 
Sabbath  morning  he  took  mother's  arm  and  supported  her 
feeble  steps  to  the  church,  sat  with  her  during  the  service,  led 
her  back  to  her  arm  chair  at  her  own  fireside ;  thus  he  preferred 
mother  to  all  the  gayety  of  society.  That  young  man  occupies 
a  lucrative  position  in  one  of  the  learned  profession  in  one  of 
the  best  cities  of  the  South,  and  well  he  should — he  deserves  it. 
Boys,  take  care  of  mother. 

During  these  ten  years  our  wooded  country  had  improved 
much.  Esq.  John  H.  Galbraith  was  a  neighbor,  a  prominent 
citizen  and  afterwards  sheriff  of  our  county.  D.  M.  McCollum 
settled  about  two  miles  north  of  us.  a  very  intelligent  and 
good  man  and.  by  the  way,  the  first  postmaster  we  had  in  our 
vicinity.  Several  families  moved  in  from  North  Carolina  and 
cpvite  a  number  of  families  from  Middle  Tennessee ;  among 
whom  I  remember  the  families  of  McCollums.  Van  Dyke, 
Bunch,  Puryear,  Owens,  Hardeman,  Smith,  and  others  whom  I 
do  not  now  recall  settled  on  the  south  side  of  our  little  neigh- 
borhood, bringing  with  them  money  with  which  they  purchased 
lands  and  paid  for  them.  Also  negro  slaves  which  were  put 
immediately  to  clearing  the  land  which  was  very  rich.  The 
sons  of  some  of  these  gentlemen  worked  also  in  all  the  labors 
of  the  farm.  A  country  store  was  erected  in  one  mile  of  my 
father's  house,  a  postoffiee — Center  Point — established.  School 
facilities   were   improved.     Sabbath    schools   were     organized ; 


18         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

churches,  erected;  newspapers  began  to  circulate  freely  among 
our  people.  An  era  of  prosperity  had  come  down  upon  us. 
Also  during  these  years  a  Masonic  Hall  was  erected,  a  two- 
si  ory  frame  building;  a  Masonic  lodge  organized  which  occu- 
pied the  second  story  of  the  building,  the  basement  '  be- 
ing used  for  preaching,  open  alike  to  all  denominations  of 
Christians  and  later  for  school  purposes  and  for  all  purposes 
of  gathering  when  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  thought  it 
necessary  to  come  together.  Also  during  these  years  The 
voices  of  many  distinguished  statesmen  were  heard  among  us; 
among  the  number  being  Hon.  J.  I).  C.  Atkins  and  Emerson 
Ethridge,  who  were  perhaps  the  peers  of  any  men  in  Tennessee 
upon  the  political  issues  of  the  day;  loud  and  long  were  the 
cheers  given  to  each  champion  as  he  would  score  a  point  against 
the  other,  but  after  the  contest  was  over  all  returne  1  to  their 
daily  avocations  with  good  will  for  all.  Let  me  say  right  here 
that  there  was  not  a  saloon  in  our  good  neighborhood,  nor  one 
allowed;  neither  is  there  one  nor  one  allowed  even  to  this  day,  it 
being  more  than  fifty  years  since  my  father.  J.  II.  Galbraith, 
and  other  good  citizens  moved  into  and  began  to  settle  up  the 
country.  One  fellow,  however,  had  the  audacity  to  attempt  to 
run  a  saloon  over  the  protest  of  this  good  citizenship,  which 
lasted  about  four  days.  His  goods  were  not  destroyed  nor  his 
person  injured,  but  he  became  aware  that  it  was  perhaps  safest 
and  best  for  him  to  take  his  whiskey  and  himself  and  remove  to 
neighborhoods  which  were  more  congenial,  which  he  accordingly 
did,  very  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  Just  here 
it  is  well  to  remember  that  whenever  a  community  determines 
to  put  an  end  to  a  nuisance  of  that  kind,  it  is  best  to  listen  and 
take  heed,  for  it  is  going  to  be  done  at  any  cost. 

1  forgot  to  say  in  the  proper  place,  but  will  now  say.  that 
VI r.  C.  AY.  Brooks  was  one  of  the  first  settlers,  a  good  and 
substantial  citizen,  always  found  working  for  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  community.  Dr.  J.  F.  McKenzie,  a  man  of  good 
mind,  great  energy,  and  of  much  moral  worth  to  the  com- 
munitv,    also   settled   in   the   immediate   neighborhood.      Three 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         19 

miles  west  of  us  lived  Mr.  John  Criner,  an  old  settler  and  a 
man  of  much  deep,  common  sense. 

During  this  period  of  life  I  read  the  newspapers  which  were 
full  of  the  happenings  in  Kansas  Territory.  The  territorial 
government  had  applied  to  Congress  for  statehood  in  the  Fed- 
eral union.  The  abolitionists  of  the  north  wanted  it  admitted 
only  upon  the  terms  of  a  free  state,  while  the  Southern  or  pro- 
slavery  people  wanted  it  admitted  as  a  slave  state ;  that  is,  that 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  owning  slaves,  should  have  the 
right  to  go  into  Kansas  and  have  his  property  and  slaves  pro- 
tected, as  any  other  property,  which  had  been  done  under  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States  from  the  beginning  of  the  gov- 
ernment. The  northern  Free  Soilers,  as  they  called  them- 
selves, sent  men  and  arms  to  Kansas  under  the  name  of  the 
Secret  Aid  Society,  for  the  purpose  of  driving  out  the  South- 
ern people.  The  other  side  being  equally  determined,  it  re- 
sulted in  frequent  collisions  at  arms  between  the  contending 
factions.  My  sympathies  naturally  went  out  to  the  Southern 
people,  not  that  I  owned  any  property  in  slaves,  but  I  naturally 
loved  the  Sunny  South  together  with  all  her  institutions,  then 
as  now;  whether  right  or  wrong,  was  no  question  with  me.  I 
am  for  her  and  will  be,  I  think,  while  I  have  an  existence  upon 
the  earth.  My  patriotism  began  to  run  pretty  high ;  so  I  made 
up  my  mind  that  if  I  had  any  way  of  getting  over  there  I 
would  go  and  help  my  people.  After  some  reflection  I  frankly 
laid  the  matter  before  my  father,  telling  him  of  my  intentions. 
He  heard  me  kindly  through  my  story.  AVhen  I  had  finished, 
he  told  me  that  I  knew  nothing  of  life  in  an  army;  that  I  had 
best  wait,  for  he  believed  that  inside  of  two  years  a  fearful 
war  would  be  forced  upon  the  people  of  the  Southland;  that, 
when  the  time  came,  it  would  be  our  duty  to  aid  our  people 
to  the  best  of  our  ability.  After  this  conversation  I  abandoned 
the  idea  of  a  trip  to  Kansas. 


20         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AX  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 


CHAPTER  VII. 

My  Civil  War  Experience. 

About  this  time  came  John  Brown's  raid  into  Virginia. 
Thus  every  move  on  the  political  chessboard  was  a  move  in 
the  direction  of  war.  the  most  fearful  in  the  annals  of  history. 
Thus  John  Brown's  raid  was  the  first  shot  fired  ami  the 
first  onslaught  made  upon  the  institutions  of  our  country, 
which  burst  upon  us  in  all  its  fury  in  the  year  1861.  I  was 
then  in  my  nineteenth  year ;  full  of  patriotism  and  hope  of  suc- 
cess; anxious  to  take  part  in  the  struggle.  I  enlisted  in  a  com- 
pany being  raised  by  Richard  Barham  May,  1861.  The  com- 
pany was  soon  recruited  to  about  one  hundred  men.  Barham 
was  elected  Captain  and  a  full  quota  of  officers  were  selected. 
AVe  went  into  camp  at  Trenton.  Tenn.  I  was  elected  fourth 
corporal,  the  lowest  office  in  the  army,  if  it  could  be  called  an 
office  at  all.  But  what  of  that:  any  and  all  were  willing  to 
serve  anywhere !  To  wear  a  Confederate  uniform  and  fight  for 
one's  country  was  glory  enough,  we  thought.  If  positions  were 
offered,  they  were  accepted  patriotically  and  the  mnskets  were 
carried  with  the  same  pride  and  patriotism  that  actuated  a 
Major  General. 

We  drilled  every  day — morning  and  evening,  attended  roll 
call,  did  camp  duty,  cooked  our  own  rations,  washed  our  own 
clothes,  etc. 

Our  first  lieutenant  being  a  man  who  had  some  military  train- 
ing, we  were  soon  a  fairly  well  drilled  company  of  volunteers. 

I  bought  a  copy  of  Hardee's  Tactics,  also  a  copy  of  military 
law  and  by  adding  study  to  practice,  pretty  soon  became  a  fair 
drill-master.  In  the  volume  in  military  law  1  learned  that  the 
rules  and  discipline  of  an  army  was  no  Sunday  school  affair. 
Soon  we  had  companies  enough  in  camp  to  organize  a  regiment 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE.         21 

— 27th  Tenn.  Infantry.  C.  H.  Williams  was  elected  Colonel. 
Then  began  company,  batallion  and  regiment  drills,  in  earnest ; 
officers  drills  also.  These  drills  with  other  duties  occupied  all 
our  time.  About  this  time  it  occurred  to  the  powers  that  were, 
that  we  had  neglected  to  elect  a  chaplain,  which  had  to  be 
done,  as  everything  else  in  that  patriotic  regiment,  by  the  votes 
of  the  soldiers.  So  a  young  man  applied  for  the  position  and 
went  among  the  different  companies  soliciting  votes  and  I  for 
very  mischief  went  out  among  the  companies,  not  knowing 
them  nor  they  me,  but  few  outside  our  own  company.  Other 
mischievous  comrades  caught  on  and  went  out  electioneering 
for  me :  the  election  came  off  and  I  was  actually  elected  chap- 
lain of  one  of  the  finest  regiments  in  the  Confederate  service. 
When  the  result  was  announced  I  was  actually  dumbfounded. 
The  colonel  ordered  the  new  chaplain  to  appear  at  head- 
quarters. I  positively  refused  to  go  and  after  an  explanation 
by  some  friends  that  the  whole  thing  was  a  huge  joke  on  my 
part  and  never  intended  to  go  outside  of  my  own  company,  the 
matter  was  dropped.  I  never  afterward  attempted  to  play  the 
role  of  preacher. 

Soon  after  this  I  was  elected  orderly  sergeant  of  our  com- 
pany. We  then  went  to  Columbus,  Ky. ;  thence  to  Felicanna, 
Ky. ;  thence  to  Bowling  Green,  Ky. ;  thence  to  Nashville,  Tenn. ; 
thence  to  Corinth,  Miss. 

At  this  place,  our  first  lieutenant,  John  Skiffington.  con- 
cluded that  a  position  in  the  quartermaster's  department  would 
be  more  in  keeping  with  his  ideas  of  war.  He  resigned  his 
commission  as  Lieutenant  and  I  was  elected  to  fill  his  place. 

At  this  time  General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  who  was  in 
command  of  the  Confederate  army,  ordered  a  move  upon  the 
Federal  army,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant, 
which  was  encamped  on  the  west  side  of  the  Tennessee  river 
at  Pittsburg  Landing  and  around  Shiloh  church  from  which  the 
battle  took  its  name.  We  moved  out  on  Thursday  evening  and 
on  Friday  evening  encountered  the  federal  outpost.  After 
a  light  skirmish  we  drove  them  in.  On  Saturday  we  lay  in  line 
of  battle  all  day  long  and  Saturday  night  also.    This  delay  was 


22        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE. 

caused  by  the  tardiness  of  one  division  of  the  army  not  getting 
in  position,  as  it  should  have  done,  until  late  Saturday  evening. 

So  on  Sunday  morning,  April  6th,  1862,  the  sun  rose  bright- 
ly ;  everything  Avas  full  of  animation,  life,  and  hope.  We 
moved  to  the  attack  driving  everything  before  us;  cheer  after 
cheer  went  up  as  we  drove  them  from  one  position  to  another. 
So  by  five  o'clock  p.m.,  having  fought  all  day,  we  had  the  fed- 
eral army  in  our  (dutches;  but  just  at  this  juncture,  Gen.  Buell 
of  the  federal  army  began  to  land  his  army  of  reinforcement 
On  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  consisting  of  forty  thousand 
men.  There  was  also  a  powerful  federal  fleet  in  the  river 
that  bombarded  us  all  night  long  on  Sunday  night.  With  this 
reinforcement  they  succeeded  in  driving  us  off  the  field  by 
three  o'clock  on  Monday  evening.  The  combined  loss  of  both 
armies  is  placed  at  forty  thousand  men — a  fearful  slaughter. 
Of  the  many  little  incidents  that  happened  during  the  two 
days  battle  I  will  only  relate  one  or  two.  Captain  Barham 
being  slightly  wounded  early  in  the  engagement,  retired  from 
the  field.  The  command  of  the  company  then  devolved  upon 
me,  as  first  lieutenant.  A  member  of  the  company  came  to  me 
after  the  battle  had  been  raging  for  some  hours  on  Sunday 
morning  and  told  me  he  was  going  to  be  killed.  He  looked 
pale,  though  fearless.  I  tried  to  dissuade  him  but.  nay ;  he  said 
it  would  be  so.  I  asked  him  to  take  some  tobacco  with  me.  which 
he  did,  saying  it  would  be  his  last,  which  it  was ;  the  poor  fel- 
low was  killed  a  few  minutes  afterwards. 

On  the  battlefield  there  was  a  pretty  large  highland  pond  and 
is  today  denominated  by  the  federals  as  the  ** Bloody  Pond." 
and  is  so  marked.  Well  do  I  remember  wading  through  it  on 
Sunday  evening  about  four  o'clock,  the  water  coming  to  my 
waist.  The  federals  were  making  a  strong  fight  here :  knowing 
that  if  I  were  wounded  and  should  fall  in  this  water  I  would 
drown,  I  rushed  through  and  waited  until  the  company  came 
up.  We  passed  on  beyond  this  place  to  near  the  bank  of  the 
river,  and  at  dusk  a  cannonball  from  a  federal  gunboat  cut 
off  the  whole  top  of  a  tree  which  fell  lengthwise  on  our  regi- 
ment   and  killed  eleven   men  of  one  company.     Darkness  now 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         23 

closed  the  scene  and  on  Monday  evening,  after  fighting  all  day 
to  3  p.m.,  we  returned  to  Corinth,  Miss.  We  were  worn  out 
and  disconsolate;  so  many  comrades,  who  had  gone  out  with 
us,  were  not  there  to  answer  roll-call  as  they  had  been  left 
wounded  or  dead  on  the  battlefield.  Our  ranks  were  so  de- 
pleted that  a  reorganization  of  the  whole  army  wax  necessary. 
I  was  chosen  Captain  of  our  company.  Of  such  distinction  I 
was  much  pleased  and  very  thankful  as  I  regarded  this  as  an 
endorsement  of  my  conduct  in  my  past  life  (with  the  company 
as  well  as  my  patriotism). 

The  ordeal  of  battle  and  reorganization  having  been  gone 
through  with,  we  began  drilling  daily.  More  regard  was  paid 
to  discipline.  In  a  short  time  however  the  federal  army  be- 
gan to  move  against  us.  Sharp,  close,  hard-picked  fighting  con- 
tinued night  and  day  with  occasional  fighting  with  considerable 
bodies  of  both  armies;  notably  at  Farmington,  a  village  town 
between  Corinth  and  Pittsburg  Landing.  In  May,  however,  the 
army  evacuated  Corinth  and  moved  round  to  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.,  from  there  to  Mumfordsville,  Ky.,  where  a  portion  of 
the  army  captured  the  federal  garrison ;  then  to  Richmond, 
Ky.,  where  the  federal  army  was  defeated,  and  to  Perryville 
where  was  fought  one  of  the  hardest  battles  of  the  war,  in 
which  I  was  wounded.  A  ball  passing  across  and  cutting  out 
a  piece  of  the  right  knee  cap.  from  which  I  did  not  recover 
rapidly.  From  there  I  was  taken  to  Knoxville.  Tenn.,  over  a 
rough  road  in  a  wagon.  On  the  way  out  some  one  stole  my  hat 
and  coat  also  my  haversack  containing  my  provisions.  Arriv- 
ing at  Knoxville,  Oct.  17,  we  were  surprised  to  find  ourselves 
and  the  whole  earth  covered  with  a  four  inch  shoav.  At  this 
place  General  Manney  visited  me.  On  the  next  night  we  were 
loaded  on  a  freight  train  and  started  to  Chattanooga, 

Here  I  want  to  turn  aside  to  relate  an  incident  of  two  mem- 
bers of  my  company :  AVilliam  Rhodes  of  Lexington,  Tenn., 
one  of  the  nicest  young  men  in  the  regiment  and  as  brave  as  he 
was  young  and  fair ;  and  Frank  Buck,  a  mere  boy,  both  of 
whom  came  to  me  when  we  were  in  line  of  battle  and  told  me 
they  were  going  to  be  killed  that  day.    Their  pale  features,  their 


24         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE. 

calm  demeanor,  their  determined  Looks  impressed  me  much. 
While  I  had  no  authority  to  offer  such  thing,  yet,  1  did  offer 
thai  they  take  pass  and  drop  out,  which  they  refused  to  do 
and  were  both  killed  in  less  than  two  hours:  1  wish  to  relate 
here  the  conduct  of  Joe  Wheeler,  of  Henderson  county,  the 
color-bearer  of  the  regiment  and  a  member  of  my  company, 
who.  while  holding  the  colors  aloft  during  the  hottest  of  the 
fight,  had  his  right  arm  shattered,  let  the.eolors  fall,  but,  seizing 
them  with  the  other  hand,  held  them  up  until  a  bullel  through 
his  brain  put  an  end  to  his  existence. 

Arriving  at  Chattanooga  about  midnight,  the  weather  at  this 
time  being  very  cold,  we  were  unloaded  and  carried  to  a  frame 
church  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city  and  laid  on  the  floor  as  we 
arrived,  until  the  floor  was  literally  covered  with  wounded  men. 
few  of  whom  had  blankets  to  cover  with  and  no  chance  for 
a  fire  to  warm.  We  were  in  anything  but  a  comfortable  con- 
dition. This  was  the  best,  I  suppose,  that  could  be  done  for 
us:  any  way  it  was  hard  luck.  During  the  night  owing  to  poor 
health  I  found  it  necessary  to  dispense  with  what  clothing  I 
had  left,  except  one  shirt  which  I  had  on.  Morning  soon 
dawned  and  some  friends  of  mine  found  me  in  a  nude  condi- 
tion and  ministered  unto  my  necessities.  A  brother  whom  I 
had  not  seen  for  months  came  walking  up,  having  heard  of 
the  battle,  and  wanted  to  see  me.  Soon  I  had  comfortable 
clothes.  A  good  room  in  the  hotel  and  a  bed  to  lie  on:  what 
a  great  thing  to  have  a  friend!  Boys,  never  betray  a  con- 
fidence reposed  in  you  nor  go  back  on  a  friend. 

Bragg 's  army  moved  to  Shelbyville.  Tenn..  where  another 
reorganization  of  the  army  was  necessary  and  our  ranks  were 
by  this  time  very  much  depleted.  I  of  course  was  absent  on 
wounded  furlough  and  it  was  not  expected  that  I  would  again 
be  able  for  military  duty.  I  was  left  out  of  the  organization, 
but  after  months  I  became  able  for  duty  again  as  a  cavalry- 
man. I  reported  for  duty.  Avas  transferred  to  the  cavalry  de- 
partment and  ordered  to  West  Tennessee,  then  overrun  with 
the  federals,  there  to  raise  a  company  of  cavalry  which  1  did 
after  several  weeks  and  many  narrow  escapes. 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         25 

While  in  Middle  Tennessee  I  met  with  my  old  time  friend 
and  neighbor,  J.  N.  Galbraith,  who  had  been  released  from  a 
northern  prison,  having  suffered  mneh  and  lost  the  use  of  one 
eye.  I  had  sufficiently  recovered  from  the  wound  to  travel 
with  the  aid  of  a  stick.  AVe  decided  to  try  our  luck  in  crossing 
the  Tennessee  river  and  trying  to  see  home-folks  again.  We 
succeeded  in  evading  the  federals,  arriving  at  home  and  spent 
a  brief  time  very  happily.  In  a  couple  of  days  it  was  discov- 
ered that  Ave  were  at  home  and  reported  to  the  authorities  who 
gave  us  a  hot  chase  and  came  near  capturing  both  of  us.  On 
arriving  at  the  Tennessee  river  on  our  return  to  protection,  we 
found  no  means  of  crossing,  but  We  turned  into  a  deep  gulch 
covered  with  a  thick  underbrush  and  tied  our  horses,  disrob- 
ing ourselves  of  clothing  except  a  couple  of  undergarments, 
and  procuring  a  couple  of  logs,  making  them  fast  together 
with  grape  vines,  we  pushed  into  the  river  and  used  our  best 
exertions  to  make  the  opposite  shore  before  some  federal  gun- 
boat should  overhaul  our  frail  craft  and  take  us  to  prison. 
All  went  well  until  Ave  came  half  across  the  river;  the  grape 
vines  came  untied;  the  logs  rolled  apart  and  Ave  Avere  into  the 
river.  Both  of  us  being  good  SAATimmers  Ave  Avent  on  pretty  well. 
On  nearing  the  bank  I  asked  my  friend  Iioav  he  Avas  doing;  he 
ansAArered  pretty  well,  onky  one  leg  Avas  cramped  and  sticking 
straight  doAvn.  HoAvever,  Ave  Avent  ashore,  rested  a  little,  held 
a  council  of  Avar  and  decided  to  move  on  to  a  farm  house  Avhich 
we  did.  Placing  ourselves  behind  a  fence  Avith  our  heads  just 
over  the  top  rail,  Ave  called.  A  lady  came  to  the  call.  Making 
knoAvn  to  her  our  situation  she  soon  found  us  friends.  With 
a  skiff  Ave  soon  succeeded  in  crossing  our  horses  and  getting 
on  the  remainder  of  our  clothing  which  Ave  very  much  needed. 
That  night  Ave  spent  under  the  friendly  boughs  of  a  spread- 
ing oak. 

On  my  return  to  West  Tennessee  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
a  company  of  volunteers,  Ave  had  many  difficulties.  AVe  had  no 
arms  except  occasionally  a  flint-lock  shotgun  that  we  could 
pick  up.  AVe  Avent  along,  enrolled  whom  Ave  could  and  let 
them  remain  at  home.     This  enrollment  Avas  secretlv  carried 


26         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

on  until  such  a  time  as  we  could  get  men  enough  to  organize 
a  company,  which  we  finally  succeeded  in  doing.  Our  company 
when  organized  consisted  of  about  sixty  men.  So  on  a  summer 
day  of  1863,  at  a  good  spring  in  a  dee])  hollow,  on  the  farm  of 
J.  T.  Maness,  the  organization  was  perfected.  I  was  elected 
Captain  of  this  company  also,  M.  L.  Cherry,  first  lieutenant, 
William  Record  and  Robert  Long,  second  lieutenants.  We  had 
now  men  enough  to  start  South  but  no  arms  or  ammunition. 
We  however  concluded  to  try  a  raid  down  towards  Adamsville, 
where  Ave  were  sure  there  were  federal  soldiers  of  the  "home- 
made sort."  as  we  termed  them.  (That  is  persons  who.  living 
in  this  country,  had  joined  'the  federal  army.)  Capt.  James 
Stinnett,  who  had  a  small  company,  and  I,  with  what  armed  men 
I  had,  went  down  and  sure  enough  we  came  on  a  good  sized 
company  of  them.  A  fight  immediately  occurred  in  which  we 
were  successful  by  putting  them  to  flight,  capturing  a  few  of 
them  and  getting  one  of  our  men  wounded.  Getting  a  few  guns 
we  returned  somewhat  encouraged,  bivouaced  in  the  woods  a 
few  da,ys  and  concluded  to  raid  a  portion  of  the  country  known 
as  Hooker's  Bend,  where  was  congregated  a  lot  of  thieves 
claiming  to  be,  and  were,  federal  soldiers,  who  would  make 
frequent  incursions  into  our  part  of  the  country  and  carry  off 
whatever  they  could  get  their  hands  on.  Here  we  found  a 
formidable  company,  but  who  seemed  not  disposed  to  fight 
much.  So  after  maneuvering  most  all  day.  three  of  our  boys 
being  hungry  rode  up  to  a  house,  asked  to  get  some  bread  and 
were  closed  in  upon  and  captured  by  the  federals  and  carried 
to  their  camps  for  the  night.  Following  closely  after  them 
we  remained  until  daylight  and  made  a  rush  for  them.  One  of 
the  prisoners,  a  Mr.  Benson,  just  as  day  began  to  break  seeing 
the  guard  turn  his  head  away,  gave  him  a  blow  with  his 
fist,  that  sent  the  fellow  whirling  to  the  ground  and  made  his 
escape.  Meeting  him  he  told  us  where  they  had  camped;  so 
we  charged  upon  them  and  as  usual  they  fled.  We  recaptured 
our  soldiers,  picked  up  several  horses  and  a  few  guns,  cap- 
tured a  few  prisoners  and  ran  the  crowd  into  the  bottom,  re- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         27 

turning  again  to  our  places  of  hiding,  not  knowing  what  hour 
a  heavy  column  of  federals  might  come  upon  us. 

During  these  days.  Col.  Faulkner  of  a  Kentucky  batallion  of 
Confederates  passed  through  the  country,  whose  advance  guard 
were  dressed  in  federal  uniform  in  order  to  protect  themselves 
and  evade  the  federal  columns,  should  they  meet  them.  Call- 
ing at  the  house  of  a  unionist  they  inquired  of  him  if  there 
were  any  rebels  in  the  country ;  he  said  there  were  and  pro- 
ceeded to  give  names,  writing  them  down  for  the  officers,  not- 
ing as  he  wrote  what  should  be  done  to  this  one  and  to  that 
one.  AVhen  he  came  to  the  name  of  my  father,  he  said  burn 
him  out,  that  he  had  a  son  in  there  who  was  a  bad  guerrilla, 
referring  to  me.  When  he  had  finished  his  memorandum,  the  of- 
ficer told  him  to  get  over  the  fence  and  move  along  that  these 
were  Confederates  he  was  talking  to.  The  mortification  and 
downright  fear  depicted  in  his  face  was  awful  to  behold.  They 
put  him  under  guard,  foraged  on  him  taking  bacon,  hams,  chick- 
ens, etc.,  and  he  furnished  a  bountiful  supply.  During  the  night 
the  officer  sent  for  me  and,  when  I  arrived,  had  the  man 
brought  into  my  presence  and  rehearsed  in  my  presence  what 
the  old  sinner  desired  done  with  his  southern  neighbors.  I 
saw  that  those  men  intended  to  kill  him ;  they  told  him  they 
would.  Having  known  the  old  rascal  for  years,  I  begged  for 
his  life  and  offered  to  go  security  for  his  good  behavior  dur- 
ing the  war.  He  promised  to  leave  the  country  and  not  to  med- 
dle again  in  such  manner,  which  he  did  and  kept  his  word  faith- 
fully with  me.  And  after  peace  was  made  he  made  a  warm 
personal  friend  of  mine.  At  his  death  I  was  one  of  the  pall- 
bearers and  helped  to  place  his  remains  in  their  last  resting 
place.    Peace  to  his  ashes ! 

Our  desire  now  was  to  get  out  through  the  federal  lines  to 
Mississippi,  where  Ave  could  get  arms.  There  being  six  other 
pieces  of  companies  in  the  country,  we  got  together  and  organ- 
ized by  electing  D.  T.  Spain,  Colonel;  James  Franklin,  Major, 
and  had  altogether,  perhaps,  three  hundred  men,  mostly  un- 
armed and  in  constant  danger  of  being  captured,  frequently 
having'  to  disband  and  seek  safetv  in  the  woods.    At  this  time 


28        RECOLLECTIONS  OP  AN   UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

General  X.  I>.  Forrest  forced  his  way  through  the  federal  lines 
and  came  1<>  Jackson,  Tenn.  We  immediately  reported  for 
duly  to  General  Forrest  and  wenl  South  into  Northern  Missis- 
si})})!.  A  great  many  men  of  our  number  had  once  belonged 
to  the  Southern  army  who,  at  the  time  of  the  evacuation  of 
Corinth,  Miss.,  after  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  were  a1  home  and 
who  remained  there  until  this  time.  Here  a  new  i  rouble 
arose;  a  report  was  circulated  to  the  effect  thai  these  men 
would  be  returned  to  their  old  commands  in  infantry  service 
and  their  horses  used  to  mount  new  men.  This  caused  a  regu- 
lar stampede;  men  left  in  dozens  until  within  a  short  time  there 
were  only  150  men  present  out  of  the  300  taken  out:  this  ne- 
cessitated a  reorganization.  I  was  absent  at  the  time,  but  the 
whole  batallion  was  thrown  into  one  company  and  I  retained 
as  captain  of  it.  I  was  surprised  on  my  return  and  of  course 
felt  grateful  for  the  honor.  We  were  then  attached  to  a  regi- 
ment, 21st  Tenn.  Cavalry,  under  Col.  A.  N.  Wilson  who  by  the 
way  was  a  brave  and  chivalrous  man.  Our  first  introduction 
to  the  federals  now  was  a  skirmish  in  the  night-time  which 
was  pretty  exciting,  but  no  damage  either  way.  A  couple  of 
days  later  we  met  a  federal  force  at  Okolona,  Miss.,  who  fought 
us  hard  but  we  whipped  them  and  drove  them  into  Memphis, 
capturing  and  killing  many  of  them  and  getting  arms  and  am- 
munition of  war  enough  to  arm  our  command;  also  a  lot  of 
blankets  which  we  very  much  needed:  many  of  us  not  having 
even  one  blanket  nor  an  overcoat.  Returning  to  Okolona  we 
rested  a  few  days.  The  winter  being  very  severe  it  was  with 
difficulty  that  we  kept  from  frost-bites  which  some  did  not. 
Getting  the  command  in  as  good  shape  as  possible,  we  mo  veil  to 
Jackson,  Tenn.,  capturmj  Trenton,  Tenn..  and  other  places, 
fighting  at  Johnsonville  on  the  Tennessee  river,  Paducah  and 
Fort  Pillow  on  the  Mississippi  river,  which  was  a  garrison  of 
negro  troops  commanded  by  white  men.  After  much  parley- 
ing and  urging  a  surrender  to  us  they  refused;  we  stormed  the 
works  and  when  the  fight  was  over  and  the  smoke  cleared,  there 
was  not  many  of  them  left.  We  carried  off  the  artillery  and 
what  prisoners  we  had  taken.    Just  here  I  will  state  that,  while 


RECOLLECTIONS  OP  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         29 

the  flag  of  truce  was  up,  Captain  James  Stinnett  and  I  with 
some  picked  men  crawled  up  close  under  the  guns  to  be  ready 
in  case  they  refused  to  surrender,  to  prevent  them  from  dis- 
charging their  cannon  into  our  ranks  which  we  successfully  did. 
The  little  town  was  then  by  some  mishap  or  other  burned.  This 
being  in  April,  1861,  we  had  not  tents  or  other  shelter.  During 
all  these  winters  when  it  rained  we  protected  ourselves  as  best 
we  could  with  oilcloths  captured  from  the  federals;  our 
head  we  pillowed  on  our  saddles  when  we  had  time  for  a  nap; 
our  rations  were  poor;  musty  corn  meal,  and  bacon  and  beef 
when  we  could  get  it.  Of  this  we  did  not  complain.  It  was 
the  best  the  Confederacy  could  do  for  us.  Our  currency  was 
so  much  depreciated  as  to  be  almost  worthless.  To  give  an 
idea  of  its  purchasing  power,  I  owned  a  good  horse  which 
would,  in  ordinary  times,  be  worth  a  hundred  dollars,  which 
norse  was  valued  into  the  service  at  eighteen  hundred  dollars. 
Tobacco  was  worth  five  dollars  for  a  single  plug  and,  if  fine, 
about  twenty  dollars;  a  large  watermelon  would  bring  from 
five  to  ten  dollars.  I  saw  sixty  dollars  paid  for  one  quart  of 
whiskey.  Of  this  currency  we  did  not  have  very  much ;  we 
were  not  paid  regularly.  I  remember  that  at  the  time  of  the 
surrender  the  government  owed  me  about  twenty-seven  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  wages  paid  an  officer  of  my  rank  was  one 
hundred  and  thirty  dollars  per  month ;  hence  you  will  observe 
that  I  had  not  been  paid  in  quite  a  while.  Of  this  we  made  no 
complaint,  as  one  was  about  as  well  off  without  it  as  with  it. 
The  success  of  the  cause  was  our  leading  thought  and.  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  end.  we  were  willing  to  undergo  any- 
thing that  might  befall  us. 

Returning  from  this  digression  tc  the  thread  of  my  theme, 
we  left  Fort  Pillow,  denuded  of  me  „.nd  guns,  and  West  Ten- 
nessee with  not  a  federal  command  in  it  outside  of  the  city  of 
Memphis.  Turning  again  Southward  we  crossed  the  Tennessee 
river  at  Florence,  Ala.,  crossing  the  men  in  skiffs  and  on  flat 
boats,  and  swimming  the  horses;  no  wagons  except  those  for 
carrying  ammunition  and  a  few  ambulances  were  allowed. 
Encountering  the  federals  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  driv- 


30        RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AX  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

ing  on  toward  Nashville,  we  hurried  them  along,  stopping  at 
Pulaski,  Term.,  taking  a  few  block-houses.  This  being  now  well 
up  into  the  month  of  May.  We  passed  on  to  Athens,  Tenn., 
where  we  forced  ""  surrender  of  about  2,500  men  who  were 
well  fortified.  GU  .oral  Forrest  did  this  bold  strategy  vcvy 
much  to  our  delight ;  to  storm  a  breastwork  across  a  broad  deep 
ditch  and  il  protected  with  an  abaltis  made  secure  with  tele- 
graph wire,  was  no  light  job.  Rut  they  knew  Ave  had  stormed 
the  works  at  Fort  Pillow  a  few  weeks  before  and  had  confi- 
dence in  us  to  believe  that  we  would  do  the  same  for  them. 
Passing  on  Ave  came  to  a  negro  corral  where  were  quarters  of 
a  large  number  of  negroes  and  horses  belonging  to  the  feder- 
al government ;  all  were  protected  by  a  block-house  and  fed- 
eral garrison.  This  Ave  captured — horses,  negroes  and  all.  but 
they  were  retaken  that  same  evening  by  the  federals,  over 
which  Ave  had  a  skirmish  ;  there  being  only  a  few  men  left  as 
a  guard  they  were  not  able  to  cope  with  the  federal  forces. 
Passing  on  from  here  Ave  were  ordered  back  AVest  of  the  Ten- 
nessee river  to  meet  a  raid  of  infantry,  cavalry,  and  artillery, 
commanded  by  Major-General  Sturgess  of  the  federal  army. 
The  brigade,  Bell's,  to  which  Ave  were  attached  marched 
seventy-five  miles  during  the  clay  and  night  before  Ave  encount- 
ered them.  Striking  them  at  Brice's  Cross  Boads,  Miss.,  on 
June  10th,  1864,  tired,  hungry,  and  sleepy  as  Ave  were,  we 
dismounted  and  made  immediate  preparations  for  the  assault. 
Our  enemies  outnumbering  us  almost,  if  not  quite,  three  to  one. 
Ave  knew  Ave  had  hard  work  to  do.  When  our  brigade  arrived. 
General  Forrest  met  us  and  had  something  to  say  to  each  man 
as  he  passed  along  the  line — some  word  of  encouragement. 
We  could  all  see  with  what  intense  feeling  and  anxiety  he 
regarded  the  issue.  This  made  the  men  more  determined.  We 
moved  to  the  assault  through  a  deep  underbrush  in  which 
the  enemy  was  concealed.  The  onslaught  Avas  terrific  and  re- 
pelled with  equal  vigor;  for  hours  it  seemed  as  though  Ave  were 
on  a  scale  which  rose  and  fell  with  about  equal  regularity  as 
each  side  charged  and  countercharged,  until  finally  we  broke 
the  center  of  the  federal  line  and.  doubling  it  back,  put  them 


RECOLLECTIONS  OP  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  31 

to  riot.  We  followed  them  until  midnight  and  for  nearly  two 
days  afterward,  killing  and  wounding  many  of  them,  taking 
many  prisoners.  In  this  engagement  many  of  our  best  men 
were  lost,  many  killed  and  many  more  wounded.  After  this  and 
our  return,  we  went  into  camp  for  a  much  needed  rest  for  both 
men  and  horses,  which  lasted  only  about  two  weeks,  until  an- 
other raid  was  started  out  from  Memphis  under  the  command 
of  General  A.  J.  Smith  of  the  federal  army,  a  brave  and 
skilful  officer,  with  a  more  powerful  army  than  that  brought 
out  by  Gen.  Sturgess.  About  July  10th,  1864,  we  met  at  Har- 
risburg,  Miss.,  and  in  a  charge  on  the  evening  before  the  main 
battle,  our  brigade  was  considerably  damaged  and  forced  to 
retire;  many  of  our  men  shed  tears,  this  being  the  first 
repulse  we  had  met  with.  During  the  night  the  Federals  forti- 
fied a  strong  position  and  on  the  morning  we  assaulted  them 
and  after  two  hours  were  compelled  to  withdraw  from  the- 
field  and  accomplish  by  strategy  what  we  could  not  do  by  main- 
force.  Our  company  on  that  morning  consisted  of  sixty-two1 
men  leaving  out  the  horse  holders  which  were  every  fourth 
man.  (Remember  we  fought  on  foot)  and  when  the  fight  was 
over  thirty-two  were  either  killed  or  wounded.  A  sad  day  in- 
deed for  us,  but  we  had  to  fight  whatever  we  came  to.  To. 
drive  General  Forrest  out  of  Mississippi  was.  it  seemed,  the  de- 
termination of  the  federal  government  and  not  to  be  driven 
much  we  were  equally  determined.  On  the  next  day  we. 
by  a  flank  movement,  brought  them  out  of  their  stronghold  and 
succeeded  in  driving  them  from  the  state  after  some  days  of 
skirmishing.  On  the  third  dajr  of  this  battle  the  federals, 
had  gotten  into  a  skirt  of  timber  beyond  an  open  field  in  which 
were  long  rows  of  pens  of  corn,  cotton  gins,  fencing,  etc.  All 
of  which  they  had  set  on  fire.  The  sun  being  very  hot.  the 
heat  and  smoke  from  this  burning  property  was  too  much  for 
me.  I  was  suddenly  overcome  by  heat  and  had  to  be  carried 
from  the  field.  From  the  effects  of  which  I  have  never  re- 
covered nor  never  will.  On  the  next  day  I  was  able  to  sit  on 
my  horse,  but  weak  and  feeble.  At  this  time  the  Confederac}^ 
was  waning  fast.      Of  the  six  hundred  thousand  men   of  all 


32         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AX  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

arms,  who  had  enlisted  into  the  service  of  the  Confederacy, 
at  least  half,  or  more  than  half  of  them,  had  been  killed, 
wounded,  died,  or  discharged  on  account  of  sickness,  or  de- 
serted. I  am  sorry  to  say  we  had  some  of  this  latter  class. 
There  could  not  have  been,  I  do  not  think,  more  than  250  to 
275  thousand  left  and  they  were  guarding  a  line  of  defense  ex- 
tending from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Indian  Territory  on  the  west. 
Of  the  two  million  eight  hundred  thousand  enlisted  in  the 
federal  army,  we  could  not  have,  I  think,  disposed  of  more 
than  eight  hundred  thousand  of  them;  pretty  good  if  we  had 
done  this  much.  Now  against  the  two  hundred  seventy-five 
thousand  Confederates,  there  was  an  army  of  two  million  men 
of  the  federal  army  to  hurl  against  that  thin  line  of  Confed- 
erates. But  each  day  we  presented  as  solid  front  as  possible 
and  fought  as  gallantly  and  as  faithfully  as  in  the  earlier 
days  and  possibly  more  so.  Another  short  rest,  shoeing  horses 
and  getting  ready  for  another  raid,  we  were  notified  of  a  force 
moving  out  from  Memphis  again;  this  time  by  the  way  of 
Pontotoc,  Miss.,  commanded  by  the  same  federal,  Gen,  A.  J. 
Smith,  with  a  still  more  formidable  force  than  before.  This 
was  now  August:  the  weather,  distressingly  hot:  horses  and 
men  jaded,  but  there  was  no  chance  for  a  rest.  We  moved 
out  in  the  direction  of  the  invading  force  and  met  them  near 
Pontotoc,  Miss.,  began  skirmishing  with  them,  prepared  for 
an  engagement,  but  finding  the  federal  force  had  infantry 
enough  to  cover  our  front  and  us  in  single  line  and  as  much 
cavalry  as  Ave  had.  we  were  utterly  unable  to  force  them  back. 
As  we  would  engage  them  in  front  their  cavalry  would  swing 
around  to  our  rear  and  force  us  to  fall  back.  Thus  Ave  Avent 
for  several  days  until  finally  General  Forrest  resorted  to  one 
of  his  masterly  strategic  movements.  The  order  Avas  passed 
through  camp  for  volunteers  to  go  on  a  heavy  detached  service 
and  none  but  good  horses  allowed  to  go.  So  when  we  Avere 
ready,  our  command  Avas  very  formidable ;  neither  did  Ave 
know  Avhere  Ave  Were  to  go.  but  the  fact  Avas  soon  deA'eloped 
that  Ave  were  destined  for  Memphis.  Filing  out  around  the 
federal   armv.   leaving   General   Chalmers   in   command   of  the 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  33 

forces  left  in  front  of  the  enemy,  we  went  on  quietly  until  we 
came  to  Cold  Water  river,  a  considerable  stream  on  which 
we  had  to  lay  a  pontoon  bridge ;  this  we  soon  did,  General 
Forrest  assisting  in  the  work  with  his  own  hands.  Crossing 
quietly  and  night  soon  coming  on,  we  proceeded  on  our  way 
and  just  before  day  a  shot  from  Captain  Bill  Forrest's  pistol 
notified  us  that  the  federal  outpost  had  been  encountered;  one 
guard  being  killed  and  the  remainder  captured.  At  this  sig- 
nal we  made  a  charge  for  the  city,  at  the  outskirts  of  which 
we  ran  upon  a  division  of  federals  who  had  just  arrived  and 
gone  into  camp  the  previous  night.  These  we  run  over  and 
through,  who  in  their  night-clothes  looked  like  ghosts  but 
to  them  we  paid  no  attention  save  to  give  them  a  passing  shot, 
each  part  of  our  command  having  been  previously  assigned  to 
different  parts  of  the  city  and  ordered  not  to  pay  any  attention 
to  firing  either  on  the  right  or  left.  Our  part  of  the  command 
tiaving  been  ordered  to  the  Gayoso  Hotel  in  which  were  guard- 
ed Gen.  Washburn  and  his  staff,  to  effect  their  capture  was 
our  mission.  A  dense  fog  overhung  the  city,  making  it  impossible 
to  distinguish  a  gray  from  a  blue  uniform,  which  was  possibly 
an  advantage  to  us.  On  arriving  at  the  hotel  we  found  it 
strongly  guarded  and  one  of  the  great  difficulties  now  was  to 
find  something  with  which  we  could  batter  down  the  doors. 
We  however  succeeded,  after  some  minutes,  in  getting  in  but 
during  this  time  a  continual  firing  was  going  on  upon  us  from 
housetops,  celJars,  etc.  Gen.  Washburn  succeeded  in  making 
his  way  out  through  some  private  passage  and  getting  away. 
However  we  captured  most  of  his  staff  officers  and  also  the 
General's  uniform,  watch,  etc.  Not  having  time  for  the  of- 
ficers to  dress,  we  had  to  march  them  out  in  their  night  clothes 
and  barefooted.  Of  course  this  was  not  very  elegant,  but  the 
weather  being  warm  it  did  not  seem  to  be  injurious  to  their 
health.  Inside  the  building  there  were  many  hand-to-hand 
combats,  men  fighting  like  demons.  This  melee  lasted,  per- 
haps, an  hour  and  a  half.  During  this  time  the  guards  whom 
we  had  run  over  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town  in  the  early  part 
of  the  action,  had  formed  in  our  rear  and  as  thev  thought  ef- 


34         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

fed  iijiIIv  closed  every  avenue  of  escape  for  us.  This  necessi- 
tated a  charge  which  we  successfully  did,  fighting  pretty  hard 
;it  times  and  Losing  some  good  men  and  capturing  some  pris- 
oners. Darkness  still  hung  over  the  earth  and  discerning  a 
line  of  battle  moving  into  as  and  being  near.  Col.  Forrest  re- 
quested me  to  find  out  which  they  were.  I  rode  hastily  up  to 
them  and  asked  in  a  low  commanding  voice  what  command. 
The  answer  came  loudly  and  distinctly:  "Ohio  boys."  Said 
I,  "All  right."  turned  and  galloped  away.  This  just  saved 
us.  as  there  was  a  command  in  front  of  us  then,  skirmishing 
with  us;  so  we  turned  to  the  right  and  galloped  out,  getting 
out  with  the  prisoners.  General  Forrest  moved  out  a  couple 
of  miles  and  formed  a  line  of  battle.  lie  sent  in  a  flag  of 
truce  and  also  Gen.  AVashburn's  uniform  and  asked  that  the 
clothing  of  the  captured  officers  and  some  provisions  be  sent 
them;  also  proposed  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  To  this  Gen. 
Washburn  demurred  saying  that  he  would  capture  Forrest 
and  his  whole  command  before  night.  General  Forrest  re- 
plied that  he  would  return  by  way  of  the  Hernando  road,  the 
way  he  had  come  in,  which  he  did;  but  Washburn  considered 
this  bold  assertion  a  mere  ruse,  concluding  that  his  enemy 
had  designs  on  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  railroad  which 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  federals  from  Memphis  to  near 
Corinth  and  accordingly  put  his  forces  on  that  road  to  protect 
it  from  the  expected  raid.  So  we  proceeded  as  we  came  on  the 
same  road  back  to  Panola.  Miss.  This  raid  into  Memphis  had 
the  effect  of  again  ridding  North  Mississippi  of  a  federal  army. 
That  which  we  could  not  do  by  fighting,  we  did  by  bold 
strategy. 

I  will  stop  to  relate  that  during  the  war  many  federal  sol- 
diers took  wives  of  the  negro  women  where  they  were  ipiarter- 
ed ;  among  our  prisoners  on  this  raid  was  a  real  fat  Dutchman 
who  had  a  negro  wife,  whom  he  carried  along  with  him.  The 
weather  being  very  warm;  water,  scarce:  both  captors  and 
captured  became  very  thirsty.  On  coming  to  a  bold  running 
stream  of  clear  water,  our  Dutchman  rushed  in  and  fell  down 
to  drink.    A  mule  (on  which  some  of  our  soldiers  were  mount- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  35 

ed)  standing  in  the  water  happened  to  notice  the  Dutchman 
lying  behind  him,  raised  one  foot  and  kicked  him  in  the  head 
killing  him  instantly,  at  which  the  negro  lamented  very  much 
but  the  procession  moved  on. 

Getting  into  Mississippi  again,  we  were  much  worn  down — 
men  and  horses  too.  We  were  compelled  to  have  at  least  a 
month's  rest  after  getting  in  for  both  man  and  beast.  After 
getting  in  as  good  condition  as  possible  and  fully  satisfying 
the  federals  that  Ave  were  not  going  to  give  up  our  territory, 
we  moved  into  Middle  Tennessee  again  and,  having  a  long 
line  to  guard,  we  were  continually  on  the  march  skirmishing 
and  fighting.  Again  in  Tennessee  we  encountere  1  federals 
on  every  side.  Moving  on  to  Pulaski  we  drove  in  the  pickets 
and  captured  the  garrison;  then  to  Sulphur  Trestle  where  we 
had  a  pretty  hard  fight,  destroying  the  trestling  which  was  a 
long  one :  thence  around  Columbia.  Tenn..  burning  a  bridge 
and  destroying  railroad  track ;  at  another  place  we  captured 
a  considerable  fort  and  several  prisoners ;  at  this  point  an  old 
Dutchman  who  was  a  member  of  the  garrison  had  dug  him 
cpiite  a  hole,  reaching  in  under  a  steep  bluff.  After  the  sur- 
render of  the  garrison,  every  effort  was  made  to  get  this  fel- 
low out  of  his  hiding  place  to  no  effect ;  said  he  had  no  busi- 
ness out  "dare."  Being  no  way  to  get  him  except  to  dig  him 
out.  we  moved  off  and  had  not  the  time  to  give  to  the  capture 
of  one  man.  AYe  next  moved  in  the  direction  of  Lawrence- 
burg  where  we  had  a  pretty  stiff  fight ;  next  in  the  direction 
of  Franklin.  Term.,  where  we  took  part  in  that  memorable  bat- 
tle :  after  this  we  were  sent  to  Murfreesboro.  Tenn.,  to  assist 
in  the  capture  of  that  place.  After  a  hard  struggle  we  failed 
to  capture  the  works.  Here  I  was  severely  wounded  in  the 
left  foot,  the  ball  passing  through  the  instep,  from  which  I 
have  never  recovered.  I  was  carried  to  the  field  hospital  for 
the  purpose  of  amputating  the  limb,  but  after  a  consultation 
it  was  deferred.  I  was  then  carried  back  to  Franklin,  Tenn., 
where  I  remained  until  Hood's  defeat  in  front  of  Nashville. 

Here  I  will  digress  to  say  that  the  company  was  commanded 
by  Lieutenant  M.  L.  Cherrv  until  the  army  aa'ain  arrived  in 


36         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AX  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

Mississippi.  Here  another  reorganization  was  necessary, 
made  so  by  the  fearful  depletion  of  our  ranks.  I  was  again 
chosen  Captain  of  the  company  which  now  took  what  was  left 
of  about  three  companies  to  make  one.  Mr.  Frank  Hell  of 
Purdy,  Tenn.,  the  former  adjutant  of  the  regiment,  first  lieu- 
tenant; Mr.  W.  B.  Malone  of  McNairy  county,  second  lieuten- 
ant. I  was  never  with  the  company  again;  this  being  the  last 
of  December,  1864,  and  the  surrender  occuring  in  May  1865. 
I  was  unable  to  walk  even  at  the  time  of  the  surrender,  (TIere 
I  want  to  say  that  two  nobler,  braver,  officers  never  lived  than 
Frank  Bell  and  W.  B.  Malone.) 

Leaving  Franklin  just  ahead  of  the  retreating  army  in  a 
one-horse  wagon  with  one  mule  to  draw  it.  Mr.  James  Record, 
a  member  of  our  company,  who  had  been  with  me  all  the 
while  nursing  me,  drove  the  mule;  I  lay  on  my  back  with  the 
shoe  off  the  well  foot  and  it  placed  against  the  front  end  of 
(he  wagon  to  hold  the  wounded  foot  from  jolting  against  the 
wagon;  the  weather  being  very  cold  and  only  one  blanket  each, 
we  moved  out,  cold  of  course;  my  right  foot  was  soon  severely 
frost-bitten;  so  much  so.  that  the  skin  and  toe-nails  all  came 
off  together.  In  crossing  one  of  those  rapid  running  streams 
in  Lawrence  county,  Tenn..  Ave  had  to  keep  a  certain  track  for 
on  either  side  the  water  was  very  deep.  Crossing  one  of  these 
streams,  the  water  came  up  over  me.  Of  course  I  had  my  head 
up  above  the  water;  hut,  on  nearing  the  bank  and  the  eurrent 
being  very  strong,  our  wagon  swerved  downstream  (a  few  feet 
perhaps)  where  the  water  was  very  deep.  Just  before  reaching 
the  hank,  it  seemed  that  the  nude  would  give  way  entirely  and 
so  stood  holding  with  all  his  might;  with  all  the  encouragement 
that  could  he  given  him.  he  finally  male  a  supreme  effort.  got 
to  the  hank  and  out  of  the  water,  very  much  to  our  delight; 
for  as  to  me  I  thought  a  watery  grave  was  my  doom.  Contin- 
uing our  journey  my  clothes  froze  on  me  an  1  I  was  in  quite  a 
had  plight.  Calling  at  a  farm  house  late  in  the  evening  we 
were  taken  in,  warmed  and  fed.  We  continued  our  journey 
the  next  day  with  about  the  same  Luck  as  the  previous  day.  ex- 
cel)! the  wetting.     Just  here   I   want  to  state  that   Lieutenant 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  37 

I.  J.  Galbraith  who  had  a  large  mule  came  to  us  and  put  it  to  the 
wagon  in  place  of  ours,  which  was  about  worn  out.  He  rode 
my  horse  which  was  being  led  behind  the  wagon ;  the  kindness 
of  this  gentleman  we  much  appreciated ;  it  enabled  us  to  go  on 
our  journey;  he  also  stayed  with  us  until  the  end.  On  the 
fourth  day  we  arrived  at  Carrollsville,  on  the  Tennessee  river. 
By  this  time  I  was  very  much  worn  out  but  had  no  chance  for 
a  much  needed  rest  and  the  treatment  which  I  so  much  need- 
ed. Behind  us  thundered  the  cannon  and  shouts  of  a  victo- 
rious army ;  in  our  front  yawned  the  turbid  waters  of  the  Ten- 
nessee river  upon  whose  bosom  and  sometimes,  in  distinct  hear- 
ing, floated  a  portion  of  the  United  States  navy.  To  cross  we 
were  compelled.  Casting  about  we  found  a  man  with  a  dugout 
just  large  enough  for  me  to  be  laid  in  and  for  the  oarsman  to 
sit  on  the  other  end.  The  frail  craft  sinking  up  to  within  about 
four  inches  of  the  top.  We  moved  on  gently,  though  the  river 
was  level  with  its  banks ;  the  low  coarse  whistle  of  a  federal 
gunboat,  being  uncomfortably  near;  we  crossed  all  right  and 
friends  carried  me  up  the  bank  and  to  Mr.  Frank  Hassell's 
who  lived  near  the  river.  At  this  point  before  crossing,  we 
had  to  abandon  our  wagon;  the  federals  having  destroyed 
every  kind  of  craft  on  the  river  to  prevent  people  from  cross- 
ing, there  was  nothing  left  but  to  swim  the  stock  to  the  west 
bank.  At  Mr.  Hassell's  we  were  kindly  treated  that  night. 
Early  the  next  morning  we  saw  approaching  the  residence  from 
the  direction  of  the  river,  a  body  of  men  some  of  whom  were 
wearing  blue  overcoats.  A  heavy  fog  hung  over  the  land  as  a 
pall  of  darkness,  making  it  impossible  to  distinguish  friends 
from  foes.  The  men  who  had  been  with  me  the  evening  before 
and  night,  feeling  themselves  unable  to  cope  with  the  (as  we 
thought)  advancing  foe,  retired.  I  arose  from  the  bed  and 
holding  to  a  chair  managed  to  get  to  the  gallery  in  front  of 
the  house,  and  laying  my  wounded  foot  on  the  railing  and 
clasping  my  left  arm  around  a  post,  all  this  time  clad  in  my 
night-clothes,  I  was  watching  the  approach  of  the  body  of  men. 
I  thought  that  death  or  a  prison  awaited  me  and  not  knowing 
which,  but,  if  any  difference,  preferring  the  former,  either  of 


38         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

which  was  most  appalling.  I  had  noticed  moving  about  the 
house,  during  my  stay  there  over  night  and  that  morning,  a 
rather  beautiful  young  lady  of  medium  height,  delicate  build, 
dark  brown  eyes,  long  flowing  tresses  of  silken  black  hair,  but 
had  not  once  thought  of  the  real  deep,  fiery  southern  blood  that 
coursed  her  delicate  veins  until  she  came  suddenly  up  to 
where  I  was  holding  to  the  post.  She  handed  me  my  pistols 
which  had  been  left  in  the  room  and  said  to  me,  "Sir,  those 
are  federals.  Sell  your  life  as  dearly  as  possible.  They  will 
burn  this  house  and  premises,  but  that  is  all  right.  Kill  as 
many  of  them  as  possible."  Saying  this  she  moved  inside  the 
door  to  await  results.  Being  determined  never  to  go  to  a  fed- 
eral prison  and  being  much  encouraged  by  the  words  of  the 
young  lady.  I  stood  as  erect  as  possible  for  one  in  my  condition 
and  determined  to  fire  on  them  with  deadly  aim,  as  soon  as 
they  came  to  the  fence,  which  was  within  about  ten  feet  of 
where  I  was  standing.  When  they  arrived  at  the  fence  to  my 
great  surprise  and  gratification,  they  were  Confederates,  many 
of  whom  I  knew.  We  had  a  good  handshake  all  around  and 
were  happy.  They  remarked  that  from  the  color  of  my  dress 
they  would  have  supposed  I  was  for  peace. 

The  name  of  this  young  lady  I  do  not  now  remember,  but 
learned  that  she  is  in  Paducah,  Ky.,  engaged  in  the  millinery 
business,  doing  well  and  loved  and  respected.  Cod  grant  her 
a  long  and  happy  life  and  an  eternity  of  bliss. 

Collecting  our  little  band,  taking  leave  of  this  kind  and  hos- 
pitable family,  Mr.  ITassell  lending  a  buggy  to  assist  in  get- 
ting me  home,  we  started  on  our  journey  again,  the  distance 
to  Center  Point,  the  home  of  my  father,  being  about  thirty 
miles.  Putting  my  wounded  foot  upon  the  seat  of  the  buggy 
by  the  side  of  the  driver  and  laying  my  head  and  shoulders 
in  the  foot  of  the  buggy,  a  peculiar  position  for  a  buggy  ride, 
but  it  was  the  best  and  only  way  I  could  go.  This  position  and 
the  condition  in  which  my  foot  had  gotten  by  this  time. 
made  the  travel  very  painful  to  me.  I  surely  thought  that  I 
would  not  survive  the  day;  a  rough  and  rocky  road  added  to 
my  tortures.       Arriving  at  my  father's  house  about  dark.  I 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  39 

was  carried  in,  given  some  nourishment  and  placed  on  a  feather 
bed,  a  luxury  I  had  not  enjoyed  for  quite  a  while.  The  wound 
being  very  painful,  I  slept  but  little,  but  the  fact  of  being  at 
home,  gave  me  much  cheer.  The  wound  grew  worse  all  the 
while,  so  much  so,  that  fears  were  entertained  of  lockjaw. 
I  remained  at  father's  one  week  only.  When  it  was  known 
among  the  Unionists  that  I  was  at  home  wounded,  that  part 
of  the  country  being  largely  on  the  side  of  the  federal  au- 
thorities, it  was  dangerous  to  be  seen  in  many  places.  I  was 
doomed,  so  the  enemy  thought,  to  capture  and  possibly  death. 
Suspecting  their  intentions,  a  good  Southern  lady  took  a  piece 
of  cloth,  made  with  her  own  hands,  and  went  out  among  the 
loyal  citizens,  as  they  termed  themselves ;  the  cloth  was  suitable 
for  men's  wear  and  offered  it  for  sale;  stopping  at  every  house 
and  chatting  along  with  the  Union  ladies,  she  soon  found  the 
plans  they  had  laid  for  my  capture  or  death;  of  course  the 
cloth  was  not  sold  nor  was  it  intended  to  be ;  it  only  furnished 
an  excuse  for  the  calls,  but  I  was  fully  notified  of  the  fact  that 
I  was  to  be  dispatched.  A  brother  who  was  at  home  had  an 
ox  wagon  backed  up  to  the  door  of  the  room  and  I  was  duly 
placed  in  it  and  driven,  jolting  along  a  distance  of  four  miles, 
to  the  home  of  an  aunt  of  mine  who  cared  for  me,  giving  me 
all  the  attention  possible.  This  was  Aunt  Nancy  A.  Carroll, 
whose  small  baby  girl  would  bring  such  things  to  me  as  she 
thought  I  would  like  to  eat  and  also  slip  them  to  me.  The 
physician  allowed  me  only  a  certain  amount  which  we  did  not 
think  enough.  Here  I  improved  some.  In  about  one  week, 
however,  I  was  again  informed  that  it  would  be  dangerous  for 
me  to  remain  longer.  It  seemed  as  if  the  loyal  unionists  thirst- 
ed for  my  little  remaining  blood.  So  I  again  sought  the  ox 
wagon  and  this  time  went  to  Mr.  Jessie  Rhodes',  a  good  South- 
ern man  and  very  kind,  whose  wife  was  equally  kind.  Here 
I  was  laid  behind  the  door  in  a  room  where  no  one  saw  me  ex- 
cept they  came  into  the  room,  which  they  seldom  did. 

I  remained  here  until  the  17th  day  of  the  following  April. 
On  that  day  I  crawled  out  into  the  yard  and  saw  for  the  first 
time  in  four  months  the  beauties  of  nature.     The  leaves  were 


40         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

green,  as  were  every  living  thing;  wheat,  up  pretty  tall,  lambs, 
frisking  about ;  farmers,  at  work ;  all  nature  wore  a  smile.  I 
remember  that  I  had  only  seen  through  the  crack  of  the  door 
so  safely  was  I  hidden.  This  effort  of  crawling  out,  though, 
damaged  me  nd  it  was  three  weeks  before  I  could  be  out 
again.  But  during  this  last  confinement,  though  I  improved 
rapidly  and  was  able  to  read,  which  helped  me  to  while  away 
the  time,  the  wound  recuperating  all  the  time.  Again  getting 
out  I  thought  by  laying  my  wounded  foot  on  the  horse's  neck 
I  could  ride  to  father's,  a  distance  of  about  seven  miles,  which 
I  did  getting  along  pretty  well. 

Arriving  home  my  sisters  put  my  horse  away.  Stepmother 
and  all  the  family  came  out  and  seated.  We  were  engaged  in 
a  good  old-fashioned  family  circle  conversation,  for  neither 
they  nor  I  expected,  when  I  was  taken  away  from  there  the 
previous  winter,  that  I  would  ever  be  home  again.  In  the  mi  1st 
of  this  pleasant  reunion  what  should  I  see  but  a  company  of 
bluecoats.  about  forty  in  number,  near  the  house  and  approach- 
ing rapidly.  Escape  was  impossible  even  if  I  had  been  well ; 
a  bald  front  was  my  only  chance  and  that  a  very  poor  one. 
I  thought,  when  I  learned  that  it  was  a  troop  of  the  famous  (itk 
Tenn.  Cavalry,  U.  S.  A.,  Col.  Hurst's,  noted  for  their  chivalry 
in  killing  prisoners,  robbing  houses,  wardrobes,  etc..  a  terror 
in  fact  to  old  men,  helpless  women  and  innocent  children  who 
happened  to  be  of  a  Southern  turn  of  mind.  I  took  up  my 
crutches,  hopped  out  to  the  gate,  put  my  crippled  foot  on 
the  fence,  addressed  them  as  gentlemen,  invited  them  to  alight 
which  they  declined  to  do.  Just  here  the  stategy  on  my  part 
began.  My  belief  has  ever  been  that  they  intended  to  kill 
me  as  their  custom  usually  was  on  such  occasions.  Inquiring 
my  name  and  rank,  and  being  told,  they  began  to  question  me 
upon  a  great  many  things,  my  wounds,  my  horse,  and  many 
other  things;  1  answered  to  the  best  advantage.  Finally  one 
of  them,  a  large  stout  man  wearing  a  pair  of  green  spectacles, 
rode  up  near  where  I  was  standing  with  a  pistol  in  hand.  I 
believed  my  time  had  come.  Jus1  at  this  moment  one  of  the 
crowd  spoke  up  and  said:  "That  man  is  telling  the  truth,"  re- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         41 

ferring  to  me.  After  a  consultation  with  each  other  they 
turned  to  me  and  said  they  wanted  my  horse.  To  this  I  replied 
I  had  no  horse,  having  lost  him  when  I  was  wounded;  my  horse 
that  moment  was  in  the  stable.  They  then  proposed  to  take  me 
to  prison.  To  this  I,  of  course,  consented,  telling  them  as  I 
had  nothing  and  could  not  ride  they  would  have  to  haul  me. 
They  then  inquired  the  way  to  several  different  homes  of 
Southern  families  which  I  proceeded  to  give  them,  though  in 
a  very  circuitous  route,  telling  them  as  I  could  not  get  away 
I  would  be  there  on  their  return  to  which  they  assented  and 
rode  away.  One  may  imagine,  but  not  realize,  how  supreme- 
ly happy  I  was  at  this.  My  great  fears  were  that  they  would 
look  about  the  barn  and  see  that  my  statements  were  false 
but  they  did  not.  I  watched  the  receding  column  with 
breathless  anxiety,  as  it  slowly  passed  out  of  sight.  Then  my 
sister,  in  meek  silence,  led  my  horse,  briddled  and  saddled,  to 
the  door  and  assisted  me  to  mount,  my  crutches  on  one  arm 
my  wounded  foot  hanging  straight  down.  Turning  my  horse 
towards  the  gate  he  leaped  the  fence;  I  felt  that  I  Avas  again  for 
a  time  at  least  a  free  man.  Going  in  the  direction  of  a 
friend's  house  for  whom  they  had  inquired  and  knowing  that, 
to  get  there  first,  I  must  go  through  the  woods  and  ride  rapid- 
ly. I  pushed  on  and  succeeded  in  warning  the  people  to  put 
their  stock  and  themselves  out  of  the  way.  This  accomplished, 
I  started  in  the  direction  of  home  and  on  going  by  to  warn 
another  Southern  family  of  the  raid  that  was  upon  them,  I 
rode  into  this  same  crowd  plundering  the  house  of  a  Southern 
man :  their  horses  tied  along  the  yard  fence :  coming  on  to 
them  in  the  manner  in  which  I  did  it  was  almost  impossible 
to  go  back.  So  I  rode  along  by  the  fence,  the  men  in  the 
house  looking  at  me  but  for  some  cause  they  hesitated  and 
did  not  fire  upon  me.  Trusting  to  my  good  horse,  Texas, 
dangerous  as  it  was  I  passed  them;  my  beautiful  gray  horse 
whose  action  was  good  and  of  whose  speed  I  had  no  doubt, 
I  gave  the  word  to  go  and  he  went  by  in  such  speed  that  in  a 
moment  of  time  I  had  passed  and  turned  down  the  hill  out  of 
their  sight  and  out  of  range  of  their  shots.    I  continue!  my  ride 


42         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

deep  into  the  bottom.  The  wound  in  my  foot  by  this  time 
bled  quite  freely  and  it  was  considerably  swollen  by  swing- 
ing down  so  Long.  When  I  was  fully  safe.  I  dismounted  and 
remained  two  days  before  I  was  again  able  to  move. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  Reign  of  Terror. 

Emerging  from  my  seclusion  I  went  back  into  the  country 
where  I  could  at  least  feel  safe  from  the  enemies  of  our 
country  and  get  much  needed  rest.  About  this  time  came  the 
fall  of  Richmond  and  the  surrender  of  Lee's  army  which 
sounded  the  death  knell  of  the  Southern  Cause.  The  Unionists 
became  very  much  emboldened  by  this  and  became  more  and 
more  aggressive  towards  their  Southern  neighbors  and  es- 
pecially towards  those  who  had  been  in  the  Southern  army. 
Many  of  those  who  had  been  enlisted  in  the  federal  army  from 
our  part  of  the  country  began  to  return  to  their  homes.  Flushed 
with  victory  by  the  accomplishment  of  that  towards  which  they 
had  contributed  very  little,  they  banded  together  with  a  lot 
of  scoundrels  who  had  not  been  in  the  federal  army,  save 
for  a  spell,  but  who  wore  the  blue  for  the  purpose  of  murder, 
arson  and  theft.  1  remember  well  one  calm  summer  day  in 
1865  when  they  went  to  the  home  of  Dr.  J.  J.  McBride.  rob- 
bed the  house  of  what  they  wanted  and  burned  the  premises 
and  buildings  with  contents.  Moving  on  from  this  they  came  to 
the  house  of  Mr.  Brigganee.  an  old  and  respected  citizen, 
whose  only  offense  was  that  he  had  a  son  who  had  been  in  the 
Confederate  army  and  who  was  then  at  home  and  at  work  on 
the  farm.  They  marched  this  son  to  the  house,  tied  him  to  a 
tree  in  the  yard  and  in  the  presence  of  his  aged  father  and 
mother  shot  him  to  death  and  burned  the  house  and  contents. 
Moving  on  in  this  work  they  next  came  across  Mr.  George 
SAvift.  Him  they  murdered  and  left  dead  on  the  roadside  for 
a  pious  father  and  mother  to  take  home  and  bury.  Proceeding 
on.  the  next  victim  was  an  old  and  inoffensive  man.  he.  as  the 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         43 

others,  had  been  a  Confederate  soldier;  he  too  was  shot  down 
in  his  own  doorway.  These  are  only  a  few  of  the  many  oc- 
currences of  this  kind  that  happened  during  that  reign  of 
terror.  Looking  back  over  these  times  my  blood  recoils  at  the 
recital.  Some  of  this  same  crew  of  outlaws  came  to  Mr.  J. 
H.  Galbraith  's ;  his  son,  J.  N.  Galbraith,  was  at  home  on  parole ; 
his  aged  mother,  young  wife  and  little  sister  were  present. 
They  began  to  shoot  at  him;  the  pleadings  of  a  mother,  wife 
and  sisters  for  the  life  of  a  dear  one,  pleading  onl}^  as  they 
could  plead,  had  no  effect  on  them.  He  fled;  they  pursued  and 
shot  at  him.    Being  weak  they  soon  overtook  him.    Being  well 

acquainted  with  him,  they  said,  "Newt,  d you,  we  have  a 

mind  to  kill  you,  but  will  let  you  pass  this  time,  you  look  sa 
d bad."  This  set  of  men  had  been,  by  him  many  times,  ac- 
commodated, as  a  merchant  and  in  many  ways.  This  reign 
of  terror  continued  on  and  on;  about  this  time,  the  last  of 
May  and  first  of  June,  the  paroled  soldiers  of  the  Confederate 
armies,  that  were  left,  began  to  arrive  home.  That  remnant 
of  the  proudest  army  that  ever  faced  a  foe,  many  of  whom 
had  not  seen  home  nor  friends  since  1861,  without  money, 
without  clothes  save  a  much  worn  and  faded  Confederate 
suit.  They  went  to  work  with  the  same  determination  to  make 
a  crop  as  they  had  to  win  the  fight.  But  even  at  this  peaceful 
occupation  with  a  parole  in  their  pockets,  many  of  them  were 
shot  at  their  plows.  Looking  back  over  this  reign  of  terror 
one  can  but  exclaim,  "Great  God!  dost  Thou  control  and  direct 
the  destinies  of  men  upon  the  earth?"  On  many  occasions 
the  ex-Confederates,  at  work;  their  old  gray  jackets  would  be 
taken  off,  and  being  on  the  fence  or  other  convenient  place 
while  at  work,  if  there  chanced  to  pass  a  squad  of  these  fed- 
erals, they  would  frequently  stop  and  draw  their  pistols  and 
proceed  to  put  the  old  jackets  full  of  bullet  holes.  The  ex- 
Confederates,  unarmed  and  not  allowed  to  carry  arms,  they 
would  curse  and  abuse  the  ex-Confederates  to  their  heart's 
content.  This  thing  becoming  so  unbearable  that  there  arose 
what  was  known  as  the  Ku-Klux-Klan,  a  secret  oath-bound 
organization  among  the  Southern  people.     They  wore  masks 


44         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AX  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

and  traveled  in  the  night-time.  The  insignia  was  a  skull  and 
cross-bones.  Of  this  order  I  w;is  ;i  loyal  member  and  woe  unto 
the  insolenl  negro  or  turbulent  white  man  who  incurred  its 
displeasure!  This  was  made  necessary  in  self  defense  and 
had  the  effect  of  putting  a  quietus  on  the  insolence  of  that  crew 
of  thieves.  By  fall  of  the  year  my  wound  had  so  much  im- 
proved that  I  had  began  to  wear  a  soft  shoe.  In  company 
with  another  rebel  I  repaired  to  another  part  of  the  country 
and  began  to  build  and  repair  cotton  gins.  We  found  our  work 
in  demand  and  prices  remunerative;  so  we  continued  while 
there  was  work  of  that  kind  to  do.  That  winter  I  went  home 
and  father  and  all  of  us  went  to  work  repairing  his  premises 
and  rebuilding  his  mill  which  had  gone  down  during  the  war. 
By  the  spring-  of  1866,  I  was  sufficiently  recovered  to  wear  a 
shoe  and  began  to  clean  up  a  piece  of  land  which  had  not 
been  cultivated  but  once  during  the  war  and  was  overgrown 
with  bushes;  many  trunks  of  fallen  trees  still  lay  where  they 
had  fallen.  I  began,  I  think,  the  first  of  February  to  cut  and 
burn  logs,  dig  grubs  and  fix  fence  with  no  help  but  my  own 
hands,  hoping  that  I  might  be  able  to  make  an  honest  living  by 
the  sweat  of  my  face  and  be  unmolested  by  those  unprincipled 
scoundrels:  but  not  so.  by  this  time  the  whole  of  the  federal 
army,  which  had  been  enlisted  in  this  country,  had  returned 
to  their  homes;  their  pockets  lined  with  greenback  money, 
good  horses  and  good  clothes.  Many,  in  fact  most  of  the  ex- 
Confederates,  having  been  driven  from  their  homes  or  killed, 
it  was  thought  too  much  for  an  ex-Confederate  captain  to  live 
in  that  country;  much  less  to  have  the  audacity  to  attempt  to 
till  the  earth  and  cultivate  a  crop.  So  I  was  again  spotted 
as  one  not  worthy  to  cumber  the  earth.  The  plans  were  laid 
that,  on  a  certain  Tuesday,  I  should  pay  the  penalty  by  giving 
up  my  life  as  many  others  had  done  not  long  before. 

I  was  hard  at  work  chopping  on  a  big.  hard,  old  log  and  on 
looking  up  towards  the  road.  I  saw  an  old  man.  whom  I  recog- 
nized, as.  having  been  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  in  1861.  a 
rabid  secessionist,  but  who  had  after  the  battle  of  Shiloh  become 
extremelv  loyal  to  the  other  side,  riding  carelesslv  alone  eveincr 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AX  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         45 

me  all  the  while.     This  gave  me  an  uneasiness.     Getting  my 
horse  and  watching,  I  soon  saw  twenty-seven  men  in  blue  rush- 
ing towards  me  from  every  direction,  halting  and  shooting  at 
me  all  the  while.     It  seemed  for  a  little  while  that  they  had 
me.  but.  being  astride  my  splendid  gray  horse,  Texas,  I  rode 
out  through  them  and  made  my  escape  without  hurt  or  loss, 
except  my  hat   and  a   rather  painful  wound  in  one  shoulder 
caused  by  the  horse   running  against   a  tree.     There  was  no 
legal   process   out    for   my    arrest    or    anything   of   that   kind. 
They  had  been  entertained  at  a  citizen's  house  for  a  day  or  two, 
dancing,  drinking,  etc.,  and  to  close  the  entertainment  in  good 
style,  go  out  and  kill  a  rebel,  which  they  failed  to  do  this  time 
at  least.    Returning  in  a  couple  of  days.  I  determined  to  make 
a  crop  or  die  in  the  field ;  so  proceeded  with  my  work,  keep- 
ing my  faithful  horse  tied  near  me,  a  double  barreled  shotgun 
conveniently  near  and  a  pistol  always  at  hand.     When  it  came 
time  to  commence  plowing,  I  plowed  a  mule,  kept  my  horse 
bridled  and  saddled  near  the  center  of  the  field.     At  night  I 
slept  in  the  woods  where  I  might  be  safe ;  neighbor  boys  fre- 
quently staying  with  me.     On   one   occasion   a   man.   whom  I 
had  known  well  before  the  war  by  the   name   of  John   Gris- 
well,  came  walking  slowly  into  the  field  where  I  was  at  work. 
Allowing  him  to   come  within  about  forty  yards  of  where  I 
was,  I  put  my  hand  on  the  gun  and  asked  him  if  he  wanted 
anything.     "Xo.  nothing  much."  he  said  with  a  yawn.  "You 
seem  to  be  pretty  well  armed,"  said  he.     "Yes,  fairly  well," 
I  answered.     "I  just  thought  I  would  come  down  and  see  how 
you   were    getting   on."      "Thank   you."   said   I.   "won't   yon 
come  nearer?"  "Thank  you,"  said  he.  "I'll  be  going.  Good- 
bye."    I  watched  the  receding  figure  with  considerable  mirth, 
though  it  was  all  by  myself,  and  thought  of  the  wolf  that  went 
out  to  get  wool  and  came  back  shorn.     He  doubtless  thought 
that  he  would  come  down,  find  me  unarmed  and  do  and  say 
just  what  he  pleased.    Proceeding  with  my  work  I  made  about 
fifty  barrels  of  corn  and  nearly  one  bale  of  cotton.     The  reign 
of  terror  still  continuing,  things  had  come  to  the  point  where 
I  could  not  longer  remain  in  the  country  without  either  killinsr 


46         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

;i  lot  ©f  them  or  being  killed.  I  had  at  intervals  worked  a 
little  in  a  country  store  and  boarded  with  the  proprietor, 
whose  eldest  daughter,  then  at  home,  was  to  my  mind  as  per- 
fect a  model  of  Southern  womanhood  as  could  possibly  be 
found  and  to  say  that  I  admired  and  loved  her  was  putting  it 
mildly.  But  to  mention  such  a  thing  to  her,  situated  as  I  then 
was,  I  could  not  afford  to  do.  Through  the  advice  of  friends 
and  considering  a  treacherous  and  unrelenting  foe  which  1 
had  to  deal  with,  it  was  thought  best  that  I  leave  the  country. 
I  accordingly  bid  the  home-folks  adieu  and  with  a  heavy  heart 
parted  with  them  all,  and  especially  when  it  came  to  bidding 
farewell  to  her  whom  I  loved  and  had  not  dared  to  tell  so. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

My  Trip  to  Kentucky  and  Teaching  School  in  Tennessee. 

I  went  on  my  way  to  Kentucky;  arriving  there,  I  found 
many  good, warm-hearted  Southern  people  who  gave  me  em- 
ployment and  treated  me  kindly.  I  went  immediately  to  cut- 
ting wood  at  one  dollar  per  cord  all  that  winter  and  spring, 
driving  a  team  part  of  the  time.  During  the  summer  I  went 
to  school,  worked  Saturdays  and  all  vacations,  finally  selling 
my  horse  and  going  to  school  more,  obtaining  a  very  limited 
education — arithmetic,  geography  and  English  grammar.  Re- 
turning during  the  winter  of  1868  to  Henderson.  Tenn..  where 
I  engaged  as  a  clerk  at  a  very  small  salary,  more  to  learn  the 
business  than  for  the  money  which  I  was  getting  for  it.  At 
the  expiration  of  my  term  of  service  for  the  firm.  I  was  asked 
to  teach  a  school  at  Center  Point,  my  old  home  and  neighbor- 
hood, which  I  gladly  accepted.  Matters  had  undergone  a 
great  change  during  these  years.  The  Republican  party,  that 
party  of  corruption  and  oppression,  had  passed  an  act  in  1861. 
disfranchising  all  Southern  sympathizers  and  ex-Confederates, 
that  is,  not  allowing  them  to  vote  nor  hold  office  in  the  state, 
but  the  leaders  of  this  same  party  had  fallen  out  among  them- 
selves ;  one  of  them  being  governor  and  another  one  wishing  to 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         47 

be ;  the  one  who  was  already  governor,  fearing  the  other  one 
would  defeat  him  and  having  the  power  to  issue  certificates 
of  enfranchisement  to  whom  he  pleased,  had  his  agents  ap- 
pointed and  issued  them  broadcast ;  the  result  being  his  elec- 
tion by  a  large  majority  and  the  election  of  a  democratic  legis- 
lature also  the  enfranchisement  of  all  the  people.  Thus  was 
brought  about  the  saying :  ' '  When  thieves  fall  out,  honest  men 
get  their  dues."  Seeing  the  Democrats  again  in  power  in  the 
state  and  this  rabble  having  spent  most  of  their  war  money, 
a  good  many  of  them  having  been  killed,  first  and  last,  they 
were  very  much  calmed  down.  Seeing  their  political  rule  at  an 
end,  they  were  quite  willing  for  peace  and  friendship  to  which 
we  assented.  So  I  went  on  with  my  school  two  years,  having 
good  success,  about  as  many  pupils  as  I  could  attend  to,  many 
of  them  being  young  men  and  young  women  Avhose  opportuni- 
ties had  been  poor  as  had  been  my  own.  At  the  end  of  two 
years  I  had  advanced  the  classes  as  far  as  I  had  education  to 
do ;  so  I  closed  out  the  school-teaching  business,  sat  by  the 
door  and  bid  my  pupils  each  farewell  as  they  filed  out  and 
away  with  a  strange  sadness  in  my  heart,  wondering  what 
would  be  the  life  of  this  one  and  that  one.  Let  me  say,  though, 
in  closing  this  chapter,  that  all  of  the  boys  and  girls  who  were 
of  my  pupils,  all  of  them  save  one,  have  made  men  and  women 
of  honor  and  integrity.  Among  their  number  today  are  some 
of  the  most  successful  farmers,  merchants,  doctors,  etc.,  and 
for  each  and  all  of  them  I  entertain  the  highest  admiration 
and  respect.  Looking  over  my  accounts  I  found  that  I  had 
made  after  paying  my  little  expenses,  one  thousand  dollars, 
so  I  put  forth  my  energies  and  collected  it  up.  Not  much 
money,  you  will  say  and  right  too,  but  then  I  had  made  it 
honestly  and  saved  it  and  it  was  my  own,  hence  my  apprecia- 
tion. 


48         RECOLLECTIONS  OP  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 


CHAPTER  X. 

My  Marriage  and  Business  Career. 

Turning  my  attention  now,  for  something  more  permanent 
and  lasting  in  the  way  of  a  business  pursuit,  than  school- 
teaching,  still  having  in  mind  the  features  of  a  brown-eyed, 
dark-haired  maiden,  before  referred  to,  in  fact,  the  image  of 
her  rosy  cheeks,  gentle  voice  and  manners,  had  not  faded  from 
my  memory  during  all  these  years.  Time  had  rather  intensi- 
fied than  weakened  my  admiration  for  her.  So  from  what  I 
had  seen  and  heard  on  the  subject,  I  concluded  that  I  was 
really  in  love  with  Miss  Mary  S.  Galbraith.  Being  now  in  the 
thirty-first  year  of  my  age  and  she  in  her  twenty-first.  I  thought 
we  ought  to  get  married.  I  proposed  and  she  accepted  accord- 
ingly. On  the  fourteenth  day  of  Dec.  1871.  we  were  united 
in  marriage  by  Rev.  Mr.  Swift,  a  Methodist  minister,  and  a 
true  Southern  man.  On  the  third  day  after  our  marriage,  we 
took  a  bridal  tour,  walked  about  four  hundred  yards  to  her 
brothers.  Mr.  J.  N.  Galbraith 's,  home,  took  dinner,  had  a  good 
time  and  returned,  being  pleased  with  the  partnership  already 
formed;  I  concluded  to  try  a  further  partnership  with  the 
family  in  a  business  way;  I  conferred  with  Mr.  Jno.  H.  Gal- 
braith and  his  son  J.  N.  Galbraith  upon  the  subject,  and  after 
some  deliberating,  they  agreed  to  accept  me  as  a  business 
partner.  So  with  my  one  thousand  dollars.  I  entered  the 
mercantile  business.  Our  business  did  fairly  well.  At  the 
end  of  three  years  we  thought  best  to  dissolve  the  firm  which 
we  did.  I  then  went  into  business  on  my  own  account,  at  the 
same  place ;  of  course  in  a  very  small  way.  I  entered  my  own 
establishment  which  was  a  very  small  concern,  being  a  log 
house  18x24  feet.  I  succeeded  fairly  well,  built  up  a  good 
trade,  and  for  eleven  years  worked  faithfully  and  hard:  as 
I  now  remember,  losing  only  three  or  four  days  by  sickness 
during    these    years.      My    business    prospered    as    well    as   it 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         49 

could  in  a  country  place  with  only  a  small  capital  to  operate 
upon.  I  worked  all  the  while ;  if  I  thought  it  necessary 
to  ride  at  night  to  see  after  my  affairs,  I  did  so,  rain  or 
shine ;  I  failed  not ;  how  foolish !  as  the  sequel  will  show. 
All  this  time  my  faithful  wife  was  ever  at  my  side,  to  aid, 
to  comfort  and  to  encourage.  Her  health  was  not  very 
good.  She  was  not  strong,  but  looked  well  to  the  ways  of  her 
household,  ate  not  the  bread  of  idleness,  and  took  special  care 
of  everything  I  made,  rejoicing  with  me  at  our  moderate  suc- 
cess. Not  knowing  how  the  wealthy  fared  nor  how  the  very 
poor  lived,  we  were  free  from  both  extremes  and  as  happy 
as  we  could  well  be.  I  am  reminded  of  the  saying  of  the  prophet : 
"Make  me  neither  rich  nor  poor,  lest  I  be  rich  and  forget 
Thee,  or  poor  and  despise  Thee.''  Our  oldest  son  now  being 
about  eleven  years  old  and  our  only  daughter  about  eight, 
we  thought  it  necessary  to  see  about  their  education  and  hav- 
ing no  school  at  or  near  our  home  at  Center  Point,  we  de- 
cided best  for  the  children  that  we  go  to  Henderson,  the  coun- 
ty seat  of  our  county,  where  we  might  educate  our  children. 
Our  youngest  child,  a  boy,  having  died  in  infancy,  left  us  only 
the  two  children,  Thos.  B.  and  Vorena  H.  Carroll.  According- 
ly we  purchased  a  lot  and  built  a  house,  wife  and  children 
moved  to  it,  the  children  entering  school.  I  continued  my  busi- 
ness at  Center  Point,  but  during  the  second  year  of  this  mode 
of  living,  my  health  began  to  give  way.  Suffering  from  the 
effects  of  wounds  which  brought  on  a  disease  known  among 
the  physicians  as  locomotor  ataxia  from  which  I  will  never 
recover;  having  been  most  of  the  time  since  1  was  attacked, 
a  period  of  fourteen  years,  only  able  to  do  a  very  little  work 
and  now  for  the  past  six  months  have  not  been  out  of  my  door- 
yard  but  one  time. 

Our  children  did  well  in  school.  Thos.  B.  graduated  in 
West  Tennessee  Christian  College,  married  when  about  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  to  Miss  Suzelle  Murchison.  a  beautiful  and 
accomplished  lady.  They  have  two  sons,  Raymond  Trice  and 
John  Murchison  Carroll,  of  whom  I  am  very  proud. 


50         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AX  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  Only  Daughter. 

Our  daughter,  Vorena  II.,  graduated  at  the  West  Tennes- 
see Christian  College.  We  then  sent  her  to  a  female  college  at 
Holly  Springs,  Miss.,  for  two  years,  where  she  added  to  her 
former  acquirements.  She  was  not  a  thorough  scholar,  but 
liberally  educated  in  languages — English,  French  and  Ger- 
man; a  full  course  of  mathematics,  music  and  art;  in  all  of 
whicb  she  did  well ;  added  to  these  were  all  the  household  ac- 
quirements necessary.  And  above  all  of  a  noble  character, 
amiable  disposition,  a  kind  word  for  all,  the  humble  as  well 
as  the  favored.  Our  extreme  love  for  her  was  fully  recipro- 
cated. During  her  absence  at  school,  We  built  a  new  house  on 
our  lot  and  otherwise  beautified  our  home.  On  her  return 
from  school  she  said,  "Papa,  this  is  the  prettiest  place  on 
earth.  I  never  want  to  leave  here  again."  We  were  all  so 
happy  at  being  together  once  again.  We  thought  she  was 
with  us  to  remain  to  cheer  us  along  down  the  shady  side  of 
life.  But  alas!  She  was  not  to  be.  After  only  a  few  months 
she  was  stricken  with  that  awful  disease,  peritonitis,  from 
which  she  lingered  eight  and  a  half  months  in  great  pain.  All 
that  medical  science  could  do  was  done.  The  best  nursing  in 
our  power  and  that  of  a  host  of  friends  was  rendered,  but  all 
to  no  avail.  Death,  the  grim  monster,  that  calls  alike  for  the 
good  and  the  bad.  the  innocent  and  the  guilty,  came  and 
took  her  from  us.  At  the  awful  stroke,  the  light  seemed  to 
have  gone  out  of  our  home  and  happiness  departed  from  the 
earth  as  far  as  we  were  concerned.  A  small  marble  enclosure, 
a  plat  of  green  grass,  a  few  flowers  and  evergreens,  planted 
there  by  loving  hands,  in  the  Henderson  cemetery,  mark  the 
spot  where  we  laid  to  rest  our  loving  and  beloved  daughter, 
whose  remains  must  await  the  call  of  the  resurrection.  Her 
photo  on  the  mantel,  her  works  of  art  on  the  Avails,  her  little 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  51 

room,  her  everything  left,  only  reminded  us  more  forcibly  of 
the  departed  one  whom  we  shall  never  more  see  upon  the  earth. 
Anything  and  everything  of  hers  we  see  are  only  silent  re- 
minders of  her  industrious  hands  and  amiable   disposition. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

My  Subsequent  Business  and  Advice. 

Let  me  now  drop  back  a  few  years  to  the  beginning  of  my 
ill  health  and  bad  luck.  Being  prostrated  as  I  before  referred 
to,  I  was  taken  to  Henderson  and  in  the  spring  following 
hauled  back  to  Center  Point,  spending  the  summer  there  and 
selling  half  interest  in  my  business  to  J.  R.  Washburn  and 
later  selling  him  the  other  half.  Returning  to  Henderson  I 
engaged  in  business  with  W.  E.  McLeod.  Later  we  took 
in  another  partner,  Mr.  W.  G.  Massengill;  later  we  dissolved 
this  firm.  Still  later  I  engaged  in  business  with  Mr.  W.  C. 
McCollum.  Our  businss  did  not  prosper,  losing  heavily  on 
cotton,  in  fact  almost  everything.  At  this  time,  the  general 
government  forcing  a  gold  standard  upon  the  country,  ruined 
us  financially.  I  went  out  of  the  business,  but  not  out  of  debt. 
Shrinkage  in  values  of  everything  at  a  ruinous  rate ;  cotton 
going  down  from  11  cents  per  pound  to  l1/-*  to  6 ;  corn  from 
65  cents  per  bushel  to  16  cents;  real  estate  declining  at  least 
300  per  cent ;  good  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  Henderson  which 
brought  from  25  to  10  dollars  per  acre,  twelve  years  before, 
could  not  now  be  sold  at  all  for  more  than  six  to  ten  dollars 
per  acre.  Business  men,  the  oldest,  best  traders  of  all  kinds, 
going  into  insolvency  right  along  one  after  another ;  creditors 
becoming  more  and  more  exacting;  syndicates  and  banking  in- 
stitutions becoming  more  and  more  cautious,  exacting  12  per 
cent,  and  15  per  cent,  for  the  use  of  money ;  a  pound  of  money 
or  a  pound  of  flesh  seemed  to  be  the  order  of  the  day  and  hold- 
ers of  real  estate  who  like  myself  thought  it  the  safest  and  best 
collateral  in  the  world,  found  themselves  suddenly  bankrupt. 
The  products  of  the  soil  going  at  such  low  prices,  the  people 


52         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

actually  became  too  poor  to  consume.  In  this  condition  I  find 
not  only  myself  but  many  others  and  when  the  end  will  come 
or  what  will  be  the  final  result,  I  cannot  foretell.  If  it  does 
not  end  in  revolution  I  shall  be  agreeably  surprised.  Under 
this  system  of  government,  the  money-lender  is  in  position  to 
demand  of  the  producer,  who  has  to  have  money,  about  as 
much  of  the  products  of  the  soil  as  he  wants  for  a  dollar.  In 
many  eases  this  is  so.  I  claim  that  we  are  entitled  to  an  equal 
chance  in  the  race  of  life ;  no  more,  no  less.  That  when  the  gov- 
ernment steps  in  and  says  by  law  to  the  holder  of  real  estate, 
"I  will  reduce  the  volume  of  currency  so  that  money  will  be- 
come scarce  and  high  and  everything  else;"  or  in  other  words 
it  shall  take  2%  pounds  of  cotton  to  bring  as  much  money  as  1 
pound  did  three  years  ago,  or  four  acres  of  land,  or  three 
horses:  this  is  simply  highway  robbery,  no  less  so  because 
done  under  the  forms  of  law.  Government  has  put  forth  its 
hands  and  taken  from  one  of  its  citizens  and  given  to  another, 
because  that  other  had  invested  in  bonds  and  gold  while  the 
one  had  put  his  money  into  real  estate,  thereby  reducing  the 
wealth  of  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  and  enhancing  the  wealth 
of  the  other  in  like  proportion.  Such  is  the  case  in  this  country 
today  and  the  government  which  did  it  ought  to  be  reformed 
or  abolished,  laying  its  foundation  on  better  principles. 
Thomas  .Jefferson  said.  "Equal  and  exact  justice  to  all,  spec- 
ial privileges  to  none."  which  is  the  only  true  policy  of  gov- 
ernment. 

Now  in  this  year  of  grace,  by  observation  and  experience  I 
am  prepared  to  offer  the  following  suggestions.  I  am  per- 
suaded that  I  am  correct  when  I  say,  look  well  to  your  health, 
guard  it  with  a  zealous  care.  That  is  your  only  capital.  For- 
tunately for  you.  maybe,  you  were  not  born  rich,  but  what  is 
better,  you  were  born  of  healthful  parents,  having  sound 
bodies  and  strong  minds.  Of  which  Ave  hope  you  have  in- 
herited much.  Having  that  grand  prerequisite  to  begin  with, 
you  have  it  within  your  poAver  to  rise  to  positions  of  trust 
and  eminence. 

Merit  being  the  card  that  always  Avins  in  the  end.  therefore 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  53 

prepare  yourselves  to  fill  any  position  to  which  you  may  be 
called  and,  when  called,  discharge  it  fathfully  and  fully  to  the 
very  utmost  detail,  be  that  position  high  or  low.  Should  you 
become  farmers,  lawyers,  or  teachers,  it  matters  not  what  your 
calling  may  be,  stand  at  the  head  of  the  list;  try  to  be  the 
very  best.  Remember  that  success  is  obtained  only  by  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of,  and  close  application  to,  every  detail  of 
a  business.  Be  sure  to  ask  of  those  who  are  proficient  in  any 
business  or  study  that  you  would  like  to  learn.  They  could 
perhaps  give  you  in  a  few  words  what  it  would  perhaps  take 
you  weeks,  unaided,  to  learn. 

"Seize  upon  truth  wherever  found ; 

Be  it  upon  Christian  or  heathen  ground." 

In  you  intercourse  with  the  world  be  ever  so  courteous  to 
all,  especially  to  the  aged.  It  is  worth  all  it  costs  and  more 
too.  "Bow  thyself  to  the  hoary  head  and  honor  the  face  of 
the  old  man,"  saith  the  scriptures. 

Don't  ever  think  that  the  eyes  of  older  persons  are  not  look- 
ing upon  you  and  taking  cognizance  of  your  conduct.  For 
there  certainly  will  be  others  besides  father  and  mother  who 
will  do  this,  and  the  estimate  placed  upon  you  by  these  out- 
side persons  will  determine  largely  your  standing  in  the  com- 
munity.   Much  depends  upon  this. 

Be  sure  never  to  deceive  any  one.  Speak  the  truth  though 
the  heavens  fall.  Be  ever  careful  to  do  only  such  acts  as  you 
would  be  neither  ashamed  nor  afraid  for  the  world  to  know. 
Then  you  will  be  all  right.  A  conscience  void  of  offense  is 
the  great  bulwark  to  manhood.  In  fact  you  can  never  be  manly 
men  if  your  lives  are  flecked  with  deeds  of  evil. 

Should  you  with  friends  at  any  time  enter  into  any  kind  of 
contest  in  school  work  or  anything  else,  do  your  best  in  an 
honorable  way  and,  if  successful,  never  arrogate  to  yourself 
all  the  praise  for  the  success,  but  concede  to  those  who  worked 
with  you  full  honor  for  their  part.  Modesty,  that  crowning 
gem  of  the  virtues,  demands  this  of  you.  It  will  make  personal 
friends  of  the  one  vou  thus  act  toward.     Small  civilities  of 


54         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

this  sort,  especially  towards  the  poor  or  those  whose  station 
in  life  might  he  below  yours,  will  he  appreciated  and  make 
them  your  friends.  Whereas  an  abrupt  speech  or  haughty 
manner  will  make  them  enemies.  You  want  the  friendship 
of  all,  where  it  is  not  necessary  to  sacrifice  principle  to  ohtain 
it.     This  never  do  under  any  circumstances. 

Have  few  confidants  outside  of  father  and  mother,  hut 
should  you  have,  which  most  persons  do,  be  a  confidant  indeed ; 
keep  locked  within  your  own  bosom  anything  thus  communi- 
cated to  you  if  you  thus  agree.  It  is  in  many  cases  better, 
though,  to  say,  to  one  Avho  seems  to  have  a  great  secret  he  wishes 
to  communicate,  that  you  prefer  that  he  does  not  tell  you. 
It  is  such  an  easy  matter  to  become  a  tattler  if  one  is  not  par- 
ticular. 

You  are  certain  to  have  troubles  that  you  want  sympathy 
and  help  to  solve.  In  such  time  go  to  father  and  mother 
who  are  your  best  friends  and  into  whose  ears  yon  can  con- 
fidently pour  all  your  hopes  and  fears  and  whose  experience 
in  life  and  observation  of  men  and  things,  will  enable  them 
to  point  you  in  an  honorable  way  out  of  your  troubles.  De- 
pend upon  them  and  take  their  advice.  In  them  you  have 
friends  without  dissimulation,  variableness,  or  shadow  of  turn- 
ing. The  world  may  buffet  you,  pass  by,  and  scoff  at  your  mis- 
fortunes. Men,  who  in  your  days  of  prosperity  were  ever 
ready  to  smile  upon  you.  many  times  in  your  hours  of  dis- 
tress will  not  know  you.  All  men  will  not  do  this,  but  some 
men  will.  Father  and  mother  never  will,  consequently  go  to 
them.  Tell  them  the  trouble,  take  their  advice,  their  experi- 
ence in  life  will  enable  them  to  point  out  to  you  the  dangers 
in  this  or  find  course;  also  to  direct  you  what  to  run  after  and 
what  to  refrain  from;  that  which  is  dangerous  to  your  life  and 
character,  also  that  which  will  be  ennobling  to  both. 

To  mother  be  very  kind,  respectful  and  obedient.  She  will 
never  forsake  you.  Prison  bars  might  enclose  you.  which  God 
forbid,  but  even  then  mother  will  be  there  to  own.  to  com- 
fort, and  to  plead  for  her  sons.  If  necessary  to  go  to  the 
very  death,  she  will  so  for  you.     Having  such  how  kind,  obe- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         55 

client  and  careful  you  should  ever  be  toward  her.  If  mother 
is  sick,  wait  upon  her;  nurse  her;  care  for  her.  On  rising  in 
the  morning  never  fail  to  seek  mother  and  say :  ' '  Mother,  are 
you  well  today?"  Never  leave  home  even  for  one  day  without 
telling  father  and  mother  good-bye ;  and  on  returning  never 
fail  to  greet  them  kindly.  They  will  appreciate  this  in  you 
more  than  you  suspect.  They  entertain  for  your  welfare  a 
deep  solicitude ;  the  depth  and  intensity  of  which  you  have 
but  little  idea.  Be  ever  kind  to  all  people,  especially  those  in 
distress ;  despise  no  one 's  condition  in  life,  for  think  to-day  how 
sad  or  poor  may  be  yours  tomorrow. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"Be  Ye  Temperate  in  All  Things." — Bible. 

This  as  well  as  all  the  teachings  of  Scripture,  when  proper- 
ly considered  and  correctly  understood,  leads  its  followers 
in  paths  of  peace  and  beside  still  waters  and  maketh  them  to 
lie  down  in  green  pastures. 

Be  Temperate  In  Eating. 

He  that  gormandizes  makes  himself  sick,  enlarges  his  stom- 
ach, taxes  his  digestive  organs  above  their  capacity;  a  sluggish 
feeling  follows.  Dyspepsia  and  other  kindred  diseases  follow 
and  last  but  not  least  a  slow,  dull,  incomprehensive  intellect. 
Avoid  this. 

Be  Temperate  In  Work. 

Never  undertake  to  do  in  one  hour  that  which  would  re- 
quire two  hours;  for  if  you  do  you  will  not  do  the  work  as  it 
should  be  done.  You  will  exhaust  your  strength  in  a  flurry 
and  perhaps  require  a  whole  day  to  recuperate.  Don't  do 
this.  Eemember  that  to  complete  a  certain  amount  of  work 
ordinary  mortals  require  time  and  pains,  and  that  the  same 
time  is  required  for  you.  Make  it  a  rule  of  your  life  to  do  well 
that  which  you  undertake.    It  always  pays  in  the  end.    Besides 


56         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

if  you  establish  a  reputation  of  doing  well  that  which  you  un- 
dertake, you  will  seldom,  if  ever,  be  out  of  something  to  do. 
Whereas  on  the  other  hand,  if  you  turn  off  shoddy  work,  it 
matters  not  what  line,  your  services  will  not  be  wanted. 

Be  Temperate  In  Expression. 

I  have  so  often  heard  extravagant  expressions  that  I  won- 
dered that  someone  didn't  take  them  to  task  about  it.  I 
have  heard  such  expression  from  right  sensible  persons  too : 
"As  high  as  a  tree,"  "as  black  as  a  negro,'"  etc.,  when  the 
objects  spoken  of  did  not  resemble  trees  nor  negroes;  neither 
did  the  persons  speaking  intend  to  be  so  understood.  How 
much  better  to  express  ourselves  in  moderation !  Be  exact 
as  possible;  never  exaggerate  in  your  description.  Then  ex- 
planations are  unnecessary. 

Be  sure  to  govern  your  passions  in  a  proper  manner.  Why. 
I  have  heard  persons  say,  "I  got  so  mad  at  so-and-so,  or  such- 
and-such  persons" — as  if  to  fly  into  a  passion  was  a  virtue  that 
all  might  be  proud  of.  Such  a  one  has  my  sympathy;  a  ter- 
rible malady  has  possessed  him  instead  of  a  virtue.  Why.  a 
man  in  extreme  anger,  a  drunk  man  and  a  crazy  man  are  for 
the  time  being  much  alike.  They  are  unfitted  for  business, 
unfitted  for  social  circles,  a  torture  to  themselves,  unpleasant 
to  their  friends,  in  fact  repulsive  to  all.  Therefore  how  im- 
portant it  is  maintain  an  equal  frame  of  mind,  thereby  being 
at  all  times  ready  for  the  transaction  of  business,  the  reception 
of  friends  and  for  the  practice  of  morality  and  virtue. 

Above  all  avoid  the  intemperate  use  of  ardent  spirits.  In 
fact  use  it  not  at  all.  Intoxicating  drinks  are  harmful  to  all, 
and,  when  once  a  person  has  become  habituated  to  the  use  of 
this  stimulant,  it  is  frequently  impossible  for  him  to  resist  the 
temptation.  Many  a  good  boy  and  bright  young  fellow  can 
note  the  beginning  of  his  downward  career  to  his  first  drink. 
Never  take  the  first  one  and  you  will  never  need  the  second 
Never  begin  drinking  the  vile  stuff  and  you  will  never  have 
to  quit.  Let  it  severely  alone.  If  you  drink  it  to  excess,  which 
you  may  do,  if  you  drink  at  all.  it  will  corrupt  your  morals 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE         57 

however  good,  cause  you  to  Avaste  your  time  and  money;  it 
will  cause  you  to  be  shunned  by  the  good  and  virtuous ;  it  will 
make  your  wife  a  slave  and  your  children  beggars ;  it  will  ruin 
the  happiness  of  your  home,  dethrone  your  reason  and  make 
you  hate  yourself ;  it  will  leave  your  boys  and  girls  uneducated 
and  paupers;  it  causes  suicides,  beggars,  murderers,  and,  if 
there  is  anything  else  imaginable  more  horrible,  it  is  that  also. 
Never  go  near  such  damnable  places  as  where  whiskey  is  sold. 
How  easy  it  is  for  persons  in  both  youth  and  age  to  become 
entangled  in  the  meshes  of  intemperance !  Go  not  near  it.  Co 
nowhere  or  into  no  place  where  you  would  be  ashamed  for 
your  mother  or  sister  to  go,  or  where  you  would  be  ashamed  to 
be  found  dead.  Never  play  cards  nor  gamble  in  any  way.  It 
leads  to  ruin;  and  remember,  when  you  have  staked  your  first 
money  on  any  game  or  taken  the  first  drink,  you  have  taken 
the  first  step  in  a  downward  course — boys,  never  take  it. 

In  your  business  relations  with  men  be  careful  that  you 
fully  understand  the  propositions  and  that  the  person  with 
whom  you  are  trading  understands  every  detail  as  well  as  your- 
self. This  will  prevent  misunderstandings  and  lawsuits,  make 
lasting  friends,  and  keep  you  out  of  much  trouble.  Make 
promises  slowly  and  after  much  deliberation  and  then  not 
without  you  see  some  reasonable  chance  of  fulfillment.  But 
when  you  have  promised,  bend  all  your  energies  to  make  your 
word  good.  Never  go  to  law  about  trifles ;  it  is  better  to 
sustain  a  small  loss  than  to  enter  into  lawsuits.  The  win- 
ner in  such  cases  is  loser  in  the  end.  Avoid  every  appearance 
of  wrong-doing  and  all  appearance  of  evil  or  that  which  might 
lead  to  misunderstandings. 

Should  you  enter  into  mercantile  pursuits,  be  careful  to  take 
care  of  yourself.  Go  not  in  debt.  Buy  only  what  you  can  pay 
for  at  the  time  or  on  very  short  notice.  Sell  for  the  money 
and,  should  you  owe  anything,  pay  it  out  of  the  first  money. 
Remember  that  should  you  get  behind — owe  matured  bills  that 
you  cannot  meet,  no  one  will  come  to  your  relief,  except  that 
he  is  to  get  more  from  you  that  he  gives.  You  will  have  in  this, 
as  in  all  other  things  in  life,  to  stand  alone,  unaided,  and  the 


58         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

sooner  you  realize  this  fact  the  better  for  you.  Therefore  begin 
in  that  way. 

Beware  of  debt;  shun  it  as  you  would  the  deadly  upas-tree, 
Anyone  out  of  debt  is  in  pretty  fair  condition.  Earn  your 
money  with  your  hands.  When  you  have  done  this,  you  will 
the  more  appreciate  it  and  be  the  better  prepared  to  make 
paying'  investments.  Knowing  the  amount  of  labor  that  is 
necessary  to  earn  a  dollar,  you  will  know  exactly  what  a  dollar 
is  worth  and,  therefore,  look  the  closer  to  your  interests  and 
let  matters  which  do  not  concern  you,  especially,  pass  by ;  for 
should  you  espouse  the  cause  of  everyone  who  has  a  grievance, 
your  time  will  be  so  closely  occupied  with  other  people's  busi- 
ness that  your  own  affairs  will  suffer  thereby. 

Always  have,  as  soon  as  it  is  possible  for  you  to  earn  it.  a 
small  amount  of  cash  on  hand,  that  you  may  be  able  to  take 
advantage  of  any  good  trade  that  is  offered.  Such  trades 
come  to  those  who  have  ready  money.  Any  person,  man  or  boy. 
with  one  dollar  in  his  pocket,  though  his  clothes  be  patched 
and  his  hat  seedy,  is  in  better  conditon  and  much  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  the  conditon  of  the  one  who  has  no  money  and  who 
is  "diked"  up  in  good  clothes  and  owes  for  them.  The  first 
one  is  a  free  man;  the  second,  a  slave. 

In  selecting  your  associates  prefer  those  whose  moral  and 
intellectual  acquirements  are  high;  and  to  be  congenial  and 
companionable  to  such  associates,  it  will  be  incumbent  upon 
you  to  prepare  yourself  to  entertain  them  in  conversation  upon 
such  topics  as  are  interesting  to  them.  This  will  require  at 
your  hands  attention  to  your  reading,  study  of  history,  biogra- 
phy, travels,  etc..  not  neglecting  the  current  literature  of  the 
day.  No  one  enjoys  the  society  of  another  whom  they  know  to 
be  their  inferior  in  point  of  culture.  Therefore,  should  you 
aspire  to  associate  with  well-informed  persons,  you  must  also 
be  informed,  and  then  cultivate  the  art  of  being  a  good  listener 
as  well  as  a  good  conversationalist.  Should  there  be  one  in 
your  midst  who  is  backward  or  timid,  manage  by  gentle  means 
to  draw  him  into  the  conversation;  he  will  perhaps  give  you 
a  lot  of  information.     Modesty,  being  one  of  the  cardinal  vir- 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  59 

tues,  should  be  respected.  Should  one  of  your  company  be 
speaking,  listen  attentively  until  he  has  finished ;  then  give  your 
views,  if  at  all,  in  a  plain,  simple,  unostentatious  manner.  Let 
the  company  see  that  you  are  not  vain  nor  puffed  up.  Should 
you  enter  into  discussion  with  anyone  upon  any  question  either 
for  information  or  because  you  consider  his  position  an  er- 
roneous one,  do  so  in  a  calm  and  dignified  manner.  And  in 
stating  the  position  of  an  opponent,  state  it  correctly  and  fairly, 
but  discuss  its  features  with  all  you  ability  and  with  all  the 
proof  of  history,  or  testimony  that  you  can  command  and  ex- 
pect the  same  of  him.  In  your  debating  societies  it  is  better 
to  trust  your  memory  as  to  statements  of  an  opponent  than  to 
write  notes.  The  former  will  so  much  improve  your  memory 
as  to  enable  you  after  a  time  to  repeat  almost  a  whole  speech, 
whereas,  writing  tends  to  weaken  the  memory.  Therefore, 
cultivate  your  memory  in  every  way  possible.  Commit  to 
memory  songs,  poetry,  speeches  of  able  men,  whole  chapters 
of  Scripture  for  you  will  find  it  will  pay  you.  AVith  this  fund 
of  information  on  hand,  you  can  call  it  to  your  aid  at  will; 
yon  will  surely  need  it.  The  historian,  Gibbon,  it  is  said,  could 
commit  to  memory  a  whole  page  of  the  London  Times  by 
breakfast.  This  came  largely  by  cultivation.  Do  likewise.  In 
your  selection  of  books  read  none  but  those  of  standard  authors. 
Dime  novels  and  other  trashy  reading  tend  to  weaken  the  un- 
derstanding. Have  nothing  to  with  them.  If  your  associates 
are  those  Who  have  nothing  to  talk  about  higher  than  neighbor- 
hood gossip  or  scandal,  if  we  hear  that  alone,  we  will  soon  be 
of  the  same  mental  calibre  and  look,  listen,  and  enquire  for 
more  of  the  same  abominable  stuff. 

Just  so  with  our  reading ;  we  must  cultivate  a  desire  for 
the  best,  right  at  the  start  before  our  minds  become  vitiated 
by  the  absorption  of  evil.  Always,  in  conversation,  speak  of 
things  more  than  of  persons.  If  you  can  speak  well  of  anyone, 
do  so  in  moderation ;  if  you  cannot  thus  speak,  it  is  best  to 
remain  silent.  If  it  should  be  necessary  for  you  to  speak  in 
condemnation  of  the  acts  of  any  one,  be  kind  enough  to  say 
perhaps  the  man  may  be  pretty  fair  but  his  act  was  bad.    Judge 


60         KECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

not  harshly  of  anyone  for  you  perhaps  are  not  fully  aware  of 
all  his  surroundings.  Environments  have  much  to  do  with  the 
deeds  of  all  of  us;  therefore  let  us  be  mild  in  our  condemna- 
tion until  we  know  all  the  facts. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Incidents  in  the  Life  of  Jack  Briggance. 

Mr.  Briggance  was  a  true  Southern  man  and,  when  after 
the  battle  of  Shiloh  the  whole  of  West  Tennessee  was  overrun 
by  the  federals  and  when  the  loyal  unionists  of  our  own  coun- 
try were  extremely  troublesome,  it  became  unsafe  for  Jack  to 
remain  at  home.  So  resorting  to  cover  of  the  woods  and  night 
to  save  his  life,  he  became  somewhat  noted  as  a  guerrilla.  Many 
were  the  federals  that  he  captured,  unaided  and  alone,  and  car- 
ried across  to  Middle  Tennessee  or  other  places  where  he  could 
deliver  them  to  the  Confederate  authorities.  When  he  had  de- 
livered one,  he  lost  no  time  but  would  immediately  return  un- 
der cover  of  darkness  and  bring  forth  another  lot.  On  one 
such  tour,  traveling  until  late  in  the  night  before  he  came 
to  the  federal  camp,  the  weather  being  very  warm  and  raining 
all  night,  Jack  was  very  tired  and  sleepy ;  so  much  so  that  on 
his  return  with  his  prisoner  he  became  so  fatigued  that  he 
called  at  the  house  of  a  friend  for  a  short  rest.  Telling  the 
Yankee  to  lie  down  and  rest,  which  the  fellow  seemed  very 
anxious  to  do ;  after  a  few  minutes  Jack  dropped  asleep.  The 
Yankee  immediately  took  the  gun.  tapped  Jack  on  the  shoul- 
der and  told  him,  "We  will  now  return  to  camp. "Jack  dread- 
ed this  very  much,  but  there  was  no  chance  but  to  accept. 
After  marching  back  a  couple  of  hours,  the  Yankee  became 
very  tired  and  proposed  to  stop  in  out  of  the  rain  and  wait  until 
daylight.  Briggance  of  course  assented.  This  time  Jack  went 
to  sleep  and  the  Yank  was  guard.  Pretty  soon,  the  Yank  went 
to  sleep  and  Briggance  took  the  gun.  woke  him  and  told  him 
they  would  now  return  towards  the  land  of  Dixie.     This  time 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  61 

he  landed  him  on  the  east  side  of  the  Tennessee  river  where 
the  Confederate  forces  took  charge  of  him. 

The  Writer's  Experience. 

Away  back  in  1866  when  it  was  decided  unsafe  for  me  to 
remain  longer  in  my  native  country,  I  decided  to  go  to  Ken- 
tucky. On  my  way.  passing  through  Dyersburg,  Tenn.,  I  con- 
cluded to  exchange  my  cavalry  saddle  with  a  saddler  for  one 
of  a  more  peaceful  and  citizen-like  look.  While  at  this,  a  lot 
of  ex-federal  soldiers  surrounded  my  horse  and  began  to  say. 
"I  know  that  horse,"  which  I  knew  was  not  so.  But.  as  their 
custom  was.  I  thought  the}"  intended  to  take  him  from  me  by 
force  if  necessary.  I  went  on  putting  on  my  new  saddle,  ad- 
justing the  length  of  the  stirrup,  etc.,  until  I  was  ready  to 
mount;  pulling  a  navy  six  which  I  had  attached  to  a  belt  and 
hid  under  an  overcoat  well  to  the  front,  I  announced  boldly 
that,  "This  is  my  horse,  gentlemen,"  mounted  and  rode  away, 
but  not  without  many  misgivings  as  to  what  might  befall  me 
before  night.  Occasionally  looking  back  to  see  if  I  was  being 
pursued,  I  pushed  on  finally  coming  to  the  Obion  river  and 
near  Hale's  Point  on  the  Mississippi  river.  Dark  came  on  me. 
Finding  the  Obion  river  three  miles  wide  from  the  backwater 
and  no  means  of  crossing  that  night.  I  sought  a  place  to  re- 
main over  night.  I  wanted  a  private  place  too.  so,  if  pursued. 
I  might  not  be  found.  Turning  my  horse  into  a  bridle  path 
leading  along  near  the  water's  edge.  I  soon  came  to  what  had 
once  been  a  substantial  residence :  darkness  now  had  fully 
closed  upon  everything.  Calling  at  the  fence,  a  man  answered 
and  upon  inquiring  if  I  could  pass  the  night  with  him,  said  I 
could  but  would  have  to  occupy  the  same  bed  with  him.  to 
which  I  assented.  Alighting,  he  ordered  a  darkey  to  take  my 
horse  and  put  him  away.  There  was  quite  a  number  of  negroes 
about  there  and  when  my  horse  was  being  led  away.  I  never 
expected  to  see  him  again,  but  of  that  I  spoke  not  to  my  host. 
We  entered  the  cabin.  Pretty  soon  a  negro  woman  brought  in 
a  supper  of  bacon  and  cornbread.  Soon  the  table  was  put  back. 
The  room  being  only  about  sixteen  feet  square,  containing  one 


62         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

bed,  a  table,  one  large  box,  was  quite  full.  Soon  the  negroes 
whom  I  soon  found  occupied  all  the  other  buildings  on  the 
place,  began  to  file  into  the  cabin.  Mr.  Selph  (for  such  was 
his  name)  reached  for  an  old  fiddle  and  began  playing  a  kind  of 
mixture  between  "Mollie  Put  the  Kettle  On"  and  "Run.  Ne- 
groes, Run."  These  negroes  dancing  with  all  their  might  and 
eyeing  the  stranger  with  peculiar  inquisitveness.  Jim  would 
jump  as  high  as  the  table  while  Bill  and  Joe  cut  the  pigeon 
wing.  Sal  was  good  on  the  back-step ;  other  ladies  of  the  crew 
did  equally  well.  All  of  which  I  feigned  to  admire  and  es- 
pecially the  music.  Thus,  the  party  went  on,  enjoyed  as  they 
supposed  very  much  by  me  in  whose  honor  I  suppose  it  was 
given.  I  swayed  with  the  music  and  heaped  encouragement 
on  Jim,  my  object  being  to  keep  it  going  all  night  if  possible. 
I  thought  by  so  doing  they  probably  would  not  steal  my  horse. 
About  ten  o'clock  at  night  a  couple  of  men  came  to  the  fence 
and  calling  Mr.  Selph  to  them  held  a  hurried  conversation.  Re- 
turning he  invited  me  and  insisted  that  I  should  accompany 
them  about  a  mile  where  they  said  a  very  entertaining  time 
might  be  had.  To  this  I  demurred  and  insisted  that  our  own 
party  proceed.  The  men  disappearing  the  dance  proceeded. 
AVhile  Selph  was  out,  I  took  a  survey  of  things  and  saw  a 
carbine  and  brace  of  pistols  hanging  on  the  wall  beside  a 
federal  uniform,  which  was  anything  but  reassuring  to  me. 
I  soon  saw  he  was  tired  of  his  fiddling  and  without  assistance 
in  music  the  pleasure  would  cease.  So  I  seized  the  instrument, 
gave  it  a  few  jerks  and  proceeded  to  accommodate  the  crowd 
with  "Big  Nigger  Rare  Around,"  which  must  be  heard  to 
be  appreciated.  This  enlivened  Jim  and  the  other  dancers  to 
such  a  pitch,  that  I  really  thought  the  entertainment  would 
last  all  night,  Mr.  Selph  himself  finally  taking  a  hand  in  the 
dance.  However  about  two  o'clock  a.m.,  Sunday,  as  it  now  was. 
we  decided,  not  on  account  of  it  being  Sunday  but  <>n  account 
of  being  worn  out,  to  quit  for  the  night.  The  negroes  repaired 
to  their  cabins  and  mine  host  and  I  began  to  discuss  matters 
a  little.  Observing  my  coat  was  of  Confederate  gray,  I  told 
him  franklv  I  had  been   a   Confederate  soldier.     Tie  told  me 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  63 

he  had  once  been  also,  but  had  gone  to  the  federals  and  had 
deserted  them  also.  So  we  retired,  he  going  to  bed  first  and 
behind  and  I,  on  the  front  side.  He  put  his  pistol  under  his 
head ;  I  drew  mine  and  laid  it  on  a  box  at  my  head.  He  went 
to  sleep  but  I  did  not.  I  imagined  a  great  many  things;  maT.y 
of  which  might  have  been  true  if  I  had  just  but  known.  Of 
one  thing  I  was  certain,  I  was  in  the  presence  of  and  in  the 
house  of  one  of  the  worst  wrecks  of  humanity  I  had  ever 
met.  There  among  those  negroes  he  lived  an  outcast  I  felt 
certain.  No  other  white  person  on  the  premises  and  a  lot  of 
ferocious  looking  negro  bucks  to  do  his  bidding.  I  felt  I  would 
be  in  luck  to  get  away,  but  felt  somewhat  reassured  from  my 
performance  on  the  violin.  Daylight  soon  came,  though,  and 
to  my  delight  and  surprise  I  found  my  horse  all  right ;  I  had 
a  meat-and-bread  breakfast ;  I  was  a  splendid  fellow  with  mine 
host  as  well  as  with  the  negroes.  I  engaged  the  negroes  to 
ferry  me  across  the  backwater  three  miles,  which  they  did; 
paid  my  bills ;  bid  Mr.  Selph  a  goodbye,  promising  to  return 
and  spend  another  night  with  him  on  first  passing,  which  I  have 
never  done  yet  and  guess  never  will. 

War  Incidents  of  Mr.   (afterwards  Lieutenant)  M.  L.  Cherry 
of  My  Company. 

About  the  winter  of  1862  after  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  the 
federals  having  taken  possession  of  West  Tennessee  and  es- 
pecially the  river  counties  and  many  of  those  who  had  been 
rabid  secessionists  only  a  short  time  before ;  and  many  others 
who  thought  more  of  greenback  money,  a  suit  of  blue  clothes 
and  a  horse,  which  they  never  paid  for,  than  they  did  of  their 
country,  entered  the  Federal  army,  not  for  the  good  of  the 
service ;  not  that  they  ever  expected  to  fight  the  Confederate 
forces ;  but  for  the  sole  purpose  of  terrorizing  their  Southern 
neighbors.  Such  a  one  was  Jack  Jones,  who  upon  seeing  Mr. 
Cherry  go  into  the  house  of  a  miller  to  whose  mill  he  had 
gone  to  get  meal  for  his  family,  rode  up  to  the  dooryard  fence 
and  thus  accosted  Mr.  Cherrv:  "Come  out  here,  Mr.  Cherrv> 


(34         RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

J>y  (iod  I  am  northern  cavalry.    I  have  come  to  take  you  off, 

you  G d rebel."  Cherry  said,  "Jack,  I  don't  see  how 

I  can  go  today j  my  wife  and  children  need  some  meal."  "Get 
over  the  fence,  I  tell  you,"  said  Jones  as  he  reared  up  in  his 
stirrups.  "All  right,"  said  Cherry,  "if  I  must.  1  will."  So 
proceeding  to  the  fence,  and  stepping  over  he  seized  a  hoe 
and  dealt  Jones  such  a  blow  across  the  side  of  the  head  as 
brought  him  to  the  ground  and  then  proceeded  to  give  him 
such  a  beating  as  only  a  large  stout  man  thoroughly  aroused, 
could  do.  The  old  miller  all  the  while  begging  for  Jones' 
life,  and  knowing  full  well  that,  if  Jones  was  killed  there  at 
his  door,  perhaps  his  own  life  would  be  the  forfeit.  He 
finally  persuaded  Cherry  to  leave  Jones  alive,  when  the  fol- 
lowing dialogue  ensued: 

Cherry — '"Jack  Jones,  if  I  spare  your  life  this  time,  will  you 
ever  insult  me  again?" 

Jones — "No,  I  will  not,  Mr.  Cherry." 

Cherry — ".Jack,  if  you  ever  meet  another  man  that  looks 
like  I  do.   will   you  meddle  with  him?" 

•Jones — "I  will  not.  Mr.  Cherry." 

Cherry — "If  I  conclude  not  to  cut  your  head  off  with  this 
hoe  and  throw  it  away,  will  you  ever  be  seen  in  this  country 
again.  Jack." 

Jones — "No  sir,  Mr.  Cherry,  I  will  not." 

Cherry  then  permitted  the  miller  to  assist  Jones  on  his 
horse  and  he  moved  off,  his  new  federal  uniform  stained  in 
his  own  blood,  and  his  head  and  face  much  battered  and  so  far 
as  I  know  he  kept  his  word  and  Avas  never  seen  in  that  part 
of  the  country  again. 

How     a  Bride    of    Twenty-four    Hours    Out-talked    a    Rebel 
Colonel  and  Liberated  Her  Husband. 

During  the  winter  of  1862-3  there  was  a  great  effort  made 
on  the  part  of  the  Confederates  to  gather  in  absentees  and. 
to  further  this  end,  recruiting  stations  were  established  at 
every  place  where  we  could  hold  a  position  bordering  on 
territory  held  by  the  enemy.    Accordingly  a  station  of  this  sort 


RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE  65 

was  established  at  Linden,  Tenn.  A  Mr.  Appleby,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  27th  Tenn.  Reg.,  had  left  the  command  without 
permission  and  gone  out  on  the  west  side  of  the  Tennessee 
river.  Hearing  of  his  whereabouts  and  that  he  was  to  be  mar- 
ried on  the  east  side  of  the  river  on  a  certain  night,  the  com- 
mandant of  the  post.  Col.  Frierson.  sent  a  squad  of  soldiers  to 
the  place  to  arrest  Mr.  Appleby.  Arriving  on  the  premises 
about  9  p.m.,  we  found  the  marriage  ceremony  had  been  per- 
formed. The  entertainment — music  and  dancing — was  going 
on  in  high  glee.  Arresting  the  newly-married  gentleman,  we 
started  immediately  to  Linden  with  him ;  arriving  there  we 
delivered  him  to  the  Colonel  who  of  course  ordered  him  to  the 
guard-house  for  safe  keeping.  On  the  following  evening  the 
bride  appeared  before  the  Colonel  commanding  the  post;  look- 
ing quite  bright  and  pretty  she  said,  "Colonel,  you  have  my 
husband  under  guard.  I  am  here  to  ask  his  release.  I  suppose  you 
have  a  wife  at  home."  "Yes,  madam,"  replied  the  Colonel, 
"Well,  would  you  not  consider  it  an  act  of  cruelty  to  your  wife 
to  say  nothing  of  yourself,  were  someone  to  lock  you  up  in  pris- 
on in  sight  of  your  home  and  in  sight  of  her  whom  you  loved, 
and  deny  you  the  pleasure  of  each  other's  company  ?"  The  Col- 
onel hesitated,  stammered,  and  coughed  a  little;  his  military 
dignity  subsiding  much,  and  replied.  "My  dear  madam,  it 
would  seem  a  little  bad.  but  then  military  law — ■"  "Hold  on, 
colonel,"  replied  the  lady,  "you  have  the  law  in  your  hands 
in  this  case.  I  ask  as  a  matter  of  justice  that  you  release  to  me 
my  husband."  "Well,  madam,"  replied  he.  "If  your  husband 
will  agree  to  report  every  morning  at  nine  o'clock  while  we 
are  here.  I  will  give  an  order  for  his  release."  "All  right," 
responded  the  lady,  "have  him  brought  in."  This  was 
done,  the  husband,  happy;  the  lady,  in  smiles;  the  military  dig- 
nity at  this  time  all  gone  out  of  the  colonel.  Upon  leaving  them 
the  Colonel  said  to  the  lady,  "Now,  if  your  husband  should  not 
report  promptly,  I  shall  have  to  take  you  in  his  place."  "All 
right,  Colonel,  if  my  husband  is  not  here  at  the  proper  time,  I 
will  be  here  in  his  place."  So  saying  the  couple  departed.  On 
the  morrow  at  9  a.m.  the  lady  entered  the  office  of  the  Colonel. 


66  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  AN  UNEVENTFUL  LIFE 

looking  her  prettiest  and  said:  "Well,  Colonel,  I  told  you  if 
my  husband  did  not  report  at  the  office  this  morning  that  I 
would;  so  here  I  am.  Husband  and  I  decided  that  he  could  do 
better  over  in  West  Tennessee  or  Kentucky  than  he  could  in 
the  Confederate  army.  Colonel,  what  will  you  have  me  do?" 
The  Colonel  who,  at  this  recital,  had  assumed  all  his  military 
dignity  appeared  as  though  he  wanted  to  fight  something  or 
somebody,  but  seeing  how  completely  he  had  been  out-generaled, 
said  with  a  smile,  "Madam,  you  will  have  to  go."  "Thank  you, 
Colonel,"  replied  the  lady.  As  she  passed  out  the  door  say- 
ing to  the  colonel,  "Should  you  ever  pass  our  way,  come  and 
see  us.  I  am  sure  Mr.  Appleby  would  appreciate  entertaining 
you."    And  with  a  triumphant  wave  of  her  hand,  she  departed. 

END. 


